The Venezuela Solidarity Campaign in Nigeria (VSCN) has called for the immediate release of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, describing their continued detention in the United States as illegal, politically motivated and a direct attack on Venezuela’s sovereignty.
In a statement issued on Wednesday to mark what it described as 200 days in U.S. custody, the organisation accused the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump of using criminal prosecution as a tool to pursue regime change in Venezuela.
The statement, signed by the Coordinator of VSCN, Dimeji Macaulay, alleged that the drug trafficking and firearms-related charges filed against Maduro and Flores were politically motivated and designed to criminalise Venezuela’s elected leadership while providing a pretext for foreign intervention.
According to the group, the prosecution is part of a long-standing campaign by Washington to reverse the gains of the Bolivarian Revolution and reassert control over Venezuela’s vast oil reserves and other strategic natural resources.
VSCN said the continued detention of Maduro and Flores comes at a time when Venezuela is battling one of the worst humanitarian crises in its recent history following devastating earthquakes that reportedly claimed more than 5,000 lives, displaced tens of thousands of people and destroyed homes, schools, hospitals, roads and other critical infrastructure.
The organisation argued that rather than intensifying political persecution and economic pressure against Venezuela, the international community should be mobilising humanitarian assistance and supporting the country’s reconstruction efforts.
The group also condemned the economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies, describing them as an “inhumane weapon” and a form of collective punishment that has severely restricted Venezuela’s access to international finance, food, fuel, medicines and reconstruction materials.
According to VSCN, the sanctions have compounded the suffering of ordinary Venezuelans and significantly weakened the country’s ability to respond to the humanitarian emergency triggered by the earthquakes.
The organisation called on the United Nations, the African Union, the Federal Government of Nigeria, progressive organisations, trade unions, youth movements and defenders of international justice to demand:
•The immediate withdrawal of all criminal charges against President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.
•The unconditional release of Maduro and Flores from U.S. detention and their safe return to Venezuela.
•The immediate lifting of all United States and allied economic sanctions imposed on Venezuela.
•Urgent international humanitarian assistance, free from political conditions, to support earthquake victims and national reconstruction efforts.
•Respect for Venezuela’s sovereignty and the right of its people to determine their own political future without foreign interference or externally driven regime-change efforts.
VSCN maintained that history has repeatedly shown that imperialist intervention, economic sanctions and attempts at regime change only deepen human suffering instead of promoting democracy or stability.
The group said genuine international solidarity lies in defending the Venezuelan people’s right to self-determination while supporting their efforts to recover from the devastation caused by the recent earthquakes.
Reaffirming its position, VSCN declared its solidarity with the workers, youth, peasants and people of Venezuela in their struggle for national sovereignty, social justice and freedom from foreign domination.
The organisation concluded by renewing its call for the immediate release of President Maduro and First Lady Flores, an end to what it described as their illegal detention, the lifting of all sanctions against Venezuela and respect for the country’s independence and sovereign right to determine its own future.