“Filled with gratitude and emotion, Cilia and I send our greetings to those who, with love and perseverance, in Venezuela and around the world, support us in our struggle,” the president wrote on his Twitter account from New York City.
The presidential couple, kidnapped on January 3 by US special forces and currently unjustly imprisoned in a New York City jail, pointed out that their faces, testimonies, and prayers reach them there, filled with genuine strength born of truth and purity.
“Our strength comes from you; from your strength. Our life is your life. You know our soul, because it comes from the soul of our deepest homeland,” they stated. The Venezuelan president and first lady quoted the Beatitudes of Jesus in the post, declaring, “Blessed be our Venezuela in Prayer, Reflection, and Action,” and asserting that it is reborn every day; and “we, Cilia and I, are reborn with you.”
Maduro and Cilia appeared on July 22 for the third hearing before the Federal Court in Manhattan, New York, where Judge Alvin Hellerstein ordered their trial to begin on the morning of June 1, 2027.
Before that date, the legal proceedings will continue on November 17 with the discussion of motions regarding Maduro’s immunity and the jurisdiction of US courts to try him, which the defense must present in the following months.
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