RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from The Straits Times — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 5 sourcesVenezuela’s ousted President Nicolas Maduro is still in US custody.
Nicolás Maduro surfaced in recent photos while still in US custody, shortly after Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez signed a 25-year oil deal with the US. The oil agreement aims to increase production above 1.5 million barrels per day, sparking domestic opposition and political tensions within Venezuela. Maduro’s presence is minimized in state media, with Rodríguez gaining prominence, while talks with the opposition have not included demands for Maduro’s release. AI generated
CARACAS – Venezuela’s ousted President Nicolás Maduro resurfaced in a series of pictures posted on Aug 30 on social media, just days after acting President Delcy Rodríguez inked a sweeping energy agreement with the United States.
Photos, dated June 25, show a smiling Maduro dressed in a grey tracksuit and white sneakers while flashing two peace signs with his hands.
Aside from court sketches depicting him thinner and with grayer hair, these are the first images of the former leader since the early January raid that whisked him and his wife, Cilia Flores, out of Caracas to face federal charges in the US.
The photo drop follows Aug 28’s blockbuster announcement that Washington and Caracas forged a bilateral oil pact that Rodríguez has said will last 25 years.
The accord targets 17 strategic oilfields – including assets in the Orinoco Belt and Lake Maracaibo – with the goal of ramping up production past 1.5 million barrels per day.
While President Donald Trump touted the agreement as securing US majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, Rodríguez defended the pact as a sovereign mechanism projected to net the Venezuelan state roughly US$209 billion (S$266.45 billion).
The realignment triggered an immediate domestic backlash.
Rodríguez is facing intense crossfire from hardliners both within the ruling socialist party and an opposition wary of the sweeping terms, making her political tightrope increasingly precarious.
Following the January raid, Caracas and provincial cities bristled with billboards of the presidential couple as well as murals demanding their release.
Today, those billboards have been replaced by imagery thanking emergency responders.
Only a scattering of “#FreeMaduro” and “#FreeCilia” graffiti remains, jostling for space alongside slogans declaring “Trump out” and “Vote or street,” a reference to either voting or protesting in a sign of a fractured society.
Officials rarely mention Maduro, and state television has halted broadcasts of his archival speeches and his signature animated likeness.
Rodríguez now dominates state programming, complete with her own newly debuted cartoon character.
Meanwhile, a Venezuelan government team in US-backed talks on political guarantees ahead of potential elections with an opposition faction has yet to raise the couple’s release as a condition for concessions, according to a person with direct knowledge of the talks. BLOOMBERG
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.