Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores called to "continue consolidating the country's peace" in their first public message posted on social media since they were captured by U.S. forces in Caracas at the beginning of this year. Via a post on their X account, Maduro and his wife, also jailed in the United States, thanked the messages received over the past months: "Every word of love, every gesture of affection, every expression of support fills our soul and strengthens us spiritually. Let no one stray from the path of dialogue, coexistence, and respect, for that is the path of the Homeland. We are well, firm, and in constant prayer." "Our gratitude, our prayers, and our spiritual embrace are with you, today, tomorrow, and always," they concluded, according to the Argentine News Agency. Maduro and his wife appeared in a New York courtroom for the second time last Thursday before Judge Alvin Hellerstein, accused of various federal crimes related to international drug trafficking, narco-terrorism, and the use of war weapons. Both had been captured on January 3 during an operation deployed by U.S. forces, who stormed into Caracas and arrested them, later sending them to a prison in the state of New York, where they remain awaiting a ruling on their case.
