World leaders react to Maduro’s arrest
Fox News reporter CB Cotton reports on the reaction of world leaders after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by the United States on ‘Saturday in America.’
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As Americans wake up to the news of the US military incursion into Venezuela, and the kidnapping and kidnapping of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, questions are being asked about whether Maduro was betrayed by someone from his secret circle.
That inner circle includes Diosdado Cabello, who currently holds the role of minister of interior, justice, and peace, who is believed to be as powerful as Maduro.
Another member of that inner circle is Vladimir Padrino, the long-time head of the nation’s powerful, powerful army. Both Cabello and Padrino were quick to criticize the US actions, but their responses have so far been ineffective.
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Diosdado Cabello (Getty Images)
Cabello now stands as the undisputed heir of the Chavista movement, Padrino and the nation’s military seem to be closed, yet the Venezuelan Armed Forces seem to resist any kind of this task.
In a morning video shared on X, Padrino denounced “the criminal military violence carried out by the United States government … they will attack with their missiles and rockets fired from helicopters in Fuerte Tuna, Caracas, and the states of Mirana, Aragua, and La Guaira.”
He repeated the points spoken by Hugo Chavez decades ago, saying, “Venezuela rejects with all its might the presence of these foreign soldiers who have brought only death, pain and destruction. This attack represents the greatest tragedy the country has ever faced, motivated by the insatiable greed of our strategic resources.”
Vladimir Padrino Lopez, Venezuela’s defense minister, speaks during a press conference accompanied by the top military commander at the Ministry of Defense in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019. (Carlos Becerra/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
With a $50 million bounty on Maduro’s head, massive domestic unpopularity, and a 2024 election that the international community largely condemned as stolen, the writing has been on Nicolas Maduro’s wall for years.
Now, Maduro and Flores are reportedly guests of the United States government on the battleship Iwo Jima, bound for New York to face what could be the trial of the decade. Maduro is facing weapons and drug charges.
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The Venezuelan head of the Economic Inclusion Group, Jorge Jraissati, praised the project:
“If everything goes well, this may open a new era of peace in Venezuela. Maduro has long been a cancer in Venezuela and the region. He has turned Venezuela into a powerful country…This would not have happened if Maduro had accepted his defeat in 2024. He should have left power peacefully.”
However, experts wonder how this project was carried out so smoothly, without some level of cooperation with the Venezuelan government.
Jraissati argued, “Trump’s ability to take Maduro quickly is an indication that the US had great intelligence on the ground. It shows that the Venezuelan people were actively cooperating with the Americans. It is a big win for the US “
“Trump’s action is not against the people of Venezuela; it is against those who oppress us. We are against Maduro and his crooks, who are turning our country into a humanitarian disaster.”
Delcy Rodriguez, the country’s current vice president and Maduro’s presumptive successor, is looking for “proof of life” of Maduro in X, and is now the subject of speculation about his whereabouts. Reports say he is currently in Russia, but Moscow denies this.
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks to the media in Caracas, Venezuela, on March 10, 2025. (Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)
Taking on Maduro without taking out the entire Chavista power structure would be problematic. Diosdado Cabello and Vladimir Padrino will not be able to preside over democratic elections that they may lose. In such a situation, they can put themselves and their wealth in great danger.
What happens next?
Analysts are now investigating who may have been involved in Maduro’s kidnapping, and whether Cabello or Padrino, or members of the Venezuelan military are involved, with CIA classified material reporting on Maduro’s whereabouts.
With the future of Venezuela still very much in doubt, every day Venezuelans were scrambling for food and fuel.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado raises her hand at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, early Thursday, December 11, 2025. (Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)
With Delcy Rodriguez as head of state, there will be an inevitable power struggle with Maria Corina Machado, who recently won the Nobel Prize. It is widely believed that in any kind of free and fair election, he will win by a landslide. However, his current whereabouts are unknown, since he left Norway in mid-December after receiving his medal.
Venezuelan experts know one thing: the Chavista movement will not go gently into the Caracas night.
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Cabello, Padrino and other government loyalists may stay to fight to the end, or they may seek to negotiate by going to Havana and Moscow, the most logical choice.
