Venezuela’s interim President forms committee to release Maduro and calls for balanced relations with Washington

Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez on Sunday set up a committee to release President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, who were arrested and transferred to the United States.

Maduro, who is accused by the United States of drug trafficking and terrorism, was jailed in New York on Saturday and is due to appear before a judge in the city on Monday.

Information Minister Freddy Náñez announced the formation of a high-level committee of which he would be a member, while it would be chaired by Parliament Speaker Jorge Rodríguez and Foreign Minister Iván Gil.

Meanwhile, Delcy Rodriguez called for balanced and respectful relations with the United States in a message on Telegram on Sunday, and she also held her first cabinet meeting on Sunday, the day after taking office.

From his part, Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday rejected threats and accusations made by US President Donald Trump that he is a drug dealer.

Petro said on X: “My name isn’t in judicial files related to drug trafficking… Stop discrediting me, Mr. Trump”.

The US president had earlier said that an operation in Colombia similar to the one carried out in Venezuela seemed a good idea, accusing Petro of smuggling drugs into the US and warning that the latter won’t stay in office for long.

The Colombian president has strongly criticized the Trump administration’s military action in the region, and on Sunday denounced the legally baseless kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

After warning him on Saturday that he should take care of himself, Trump called his Colombian counterpart on Sunday a sick man who loves to use cocaine.

Since the start of Donald Trump’s second term, the two presidents have regularly clashed over issues such as tariffs and immigration policy.