A desperate plea echoed from the crumbling heart of the Maduro regime. In a televised address, Venezuela’s remaining military loyalists launched a furious counterattack, branding the recent U.S. operation as a brazen act of “colonialism.” The message, carefully scripted and delivered with defiant fervor, demanded the immediate release of Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López led the charge, characterizing Maduro’s removal as an “abduction” and a “premeditated military aggression.” He clung to the narrative of legitimate elections in 2024, conveniently ignoring the well-documented history of intimidation, rigged courts, and systematic suppression of the opposition that plagued the process.
The address took a particularly jarring turn when Padrino López attempted to recast Cilia Flores, Maduro’s wife and a U.S.-indicted co-conspirator, as a victim. He painted a portrait of a “Christian woman” and a figure of “principle,” deliberately omitting her alleged involvement in corruption and ties to criminal networks. The image of her being “bravely abducted” in handcuffs was a stark contrast to the reality of her alleged actions.
Padrino López insisted that support for Maduro was growing internationally, claiming “legitimate governments” were condemning the operation. However, the loudest voices of protest originated from a familiar chorus of authoritarian states – Cuba, Iran, Russia – nations facing their own internal struggles and fearing the spread of accountability.
“Yesterday, the individual who represents the people of Venezuela as their president was abducted,” Padrino López declared, repeating the regime’s central claim. He reiterated Maduro’s claim to the presidency, asserting a mandate extending to 2031, despite widespread doubts about the validity of his rule. The minister warned that Venezuela’s fate could befall any nation, framing the operation as a threat to the global order.
The defense minister vehemently rejected any notion of outside interference, invoking the specter of the Monroe Doctrine and accusing external forces of imposing “colonialist ambitions” on Venezuela. He called for peace, dialogue, and respect for international law, a plea that rang hollow given the regime’s own history of disregard for these principles.
Padrino López concluded by positioning the military as the guarantor of Venezuela’s constitutional order, suggesting that without their intervention, the nation would have descended into chaos. It was a final, desperate attempt to justify their continued loyalty to a collapsing regime and to rally support in the face of overwhelming pressure.
