Cabello Demands Return of Kidnapped Maduro and Flores, Denounces US War Crimes and Collapsing ‘Cartel’ Narrative

Diosdado Cabello, the general secretary of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), publicly demanded that the United States return constitutional President Nicolás Maduro and First Combatant Cilia Flores, whom he described as kidnapped, while denouncing serious crimes committed against the Venezuelan civilian population during the military aggression perpetrated on January 3.

During his speech at the National Women’s March in Caracas, Cabello asserted that US imperialism has violated international law and its own domestic laws while murdering civilians who were asleep and had no connection to military operations. “They have committed a terrible crime,” he declared.

At a pivotal moment in his speech, the minister recounted an anecdote that drew a loud ovation from the demonstrators. Cabello recalled how Cilia Flores stood up to the aggressors and declared that if they took President Maduro, they should take her too—a gesture he described as a demonstration of the courage, dignity, and bravery of Venezuelan women.

“That is what Venezuelan women are: courage, dedication, clarity, and a willingness to defend their people, their land, and their loved ones with their own lives,” Cabello stated, emphasizing that the Bolivarian Revolution is based on the leading role of the country’s women.

#ENVIVO | Ministro Diosdado Cabello: “A Nicolás y a Cilia nos lo tendrán que devolver” pic.twitter.com/B9LFlWCMxh

— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) January 6, 2026

Denunciation of crimes and popular rejection of US imperialism

Cabello asserted that the United States is holding a prisoner of war on its territory, referring to President Maduro, who—he reminded everyone—was elected by the majority of the Venezuelan people as their constitutional leader. In that context, he emphasized that voices around the world are beginning to rise up, but that it is in Venezuela where the repudiation of imperialism is expressed most forcefully.

The minister warned that US military actions have generated deep anti-imperialist sentiment in the country—not only against a specific administration, but as a historical rejection of aggression and the killing of innocent civilians.

“There are people who have never participated in politics and today are raising their voices against imperialism,” he noted, highlighting the breadth of social rejection.

#LosQueremosDeVuelta EN DIRECTO | https://t.co/tiMitVW0UR

— Con el Mazo Dando (@ConElMazoDando) January 6, 2026

Cabello was emphatic in his response to those who, he said, are celebrating the president’s kidnapping, believing the Bolivarian Revolution will fall. “They don’t know this people,” he stated. He recalled that Venezuela physically lost Commander Hugo Chávez, but that the revolution did not disappear, and asserted that in the case of Nicolás Maduro, the people do have the power to bring him back.

“They will have to return Nicolás and Cilia to us,” he reiterated, before a crowd that responded with slogans and applause.

The march, called by the mayor of Caracas, Carmen Meléndez, wound its way through the capital from Libertador Avenue to the Santa Capilla area on Urdaneta Avenue. Women from across the country took to the streets in defense of peace, sovereignty, and self-determination for Venezuela, denouncing external aggression and demanding an end to US intervention.

Among the most repeated chants was: “Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up” (Maduro, aguanta, el pueblo se levanta) chanted by thousands of protesters carrying flags, banners, and national symbols.

Cabello concluded his speech by sending greetings to all Venezuelan women—workers, students, Indigenous women, grandmothers, motorcyclists, members of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces, police forces, militia members, and Christian women—and reaffirmed that the Bolivarian Revolution will continue its path of struggle and resistance.

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US abandons its previous ‘Cartel of the Suns’ narrative

The US Department of Justice has substantially modified its indictment against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, abandoning the claim that the Cartel of the Suns is a real criminal organization and redefining it as an alleged patronage system of corruption within the Venezuelan state apparatus.

The new version of the indictment mentions the “Cartel of the Suns” only twice, compared to the 32 references in the original 2020 indictment. The new version dismantles the contrived narrative of the Cartel of the Suns that was used in major international media outlets to justify the violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty and the seizure of its oil.

Even so, US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have publicly insisted on treating the imagined Cartel of the Suns as a real organization. In a January 5 interview on Meet the Press, Rubio stated that “its leader, the leader of that cartel, is now in US custody,” referring to President Maduro.

(Telesur) with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JB/SH