Well, well, well — look what the cat dragged in. Or should I say, look what the Delcy Rodríguez regime dragged in. I suppose it needed a distraction for the hardline Chavistas who are up in arms while she's wheeling and dealing with Donald Trump and Marco Rubio over Venezuelan oil. But more on that in a moment.
On Sunday, two pictures of old Nicolás Maduro coming to you live from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn appeared on his X account, which has magically remained active since he's been in prison. It's not clear exactly who's running it — one potential candidate is his son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, also known as "Nicolasito." The younger Maduro is 36 and serves as a deputy in the country's current fake National Assembly and is a Chavista through and through. But that's just speculation — we just know Maduro himself is not posting, as he does not have access.
In the pictures, Maduro is wearing gray sweats and white athletic shoes and flashing peace signs as if he's a 15-year-old girl posing for TikTok. He's also notably trimmer than he was during his pre-January 3 freedom days, and he appears to be in good spirits. The captions are in Spanish, but they read:
A Small Gift of Love and Hope
I send these photos as a small gift to all my grandsons and granddaughters, to the boys and girls, and to all the noble people who love us.
I want you to know that we stand firm, with our hearts full of your love, that love that reaches us transformed into prayer, into constant action, into solidarity and true support. Infinite thanks for every word, for every gesture, for every blessing.
Quiero que sepan que estamos firmes, con el corazón lleno del amor de ustedes, ese amor que nos llega convertido en oración, en acción permanente, en solidaridad y en apoyo verdadero. Gracias infinitas por cada palabra, por cada gesto, por cada bendición. pic.twitter.com/8YstzkBakf
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) August 30, 2026
What's interesting about them is that they're dated June 25, 2026, over two months ago. But they didn't make their way to social media until less than 48 hours after Trump announced "the biggest oil deal in history" regarding Venezuelan oil, and less than 24 hours after Delcy herself shared the news on Venezuelan television.
Why? Delcy is receiving a lot of crap from her base about being a "sellout" to the imperialist United States. She needed a distraction, something to assure Chavismo that what's going on isn't what it seems. She's doing what Trump and Rubio tell her, but she's also buying time because she believes she can stay in office, especially if elections aren't held before Trump's term is up. This is just a little bat signal to those still in place who are angry with her. Nothing more.
Also note that June 25 was the day after the devastating double earthquakes hit Venezuela.
When the oil deal news broke on Friday evening, I covered it a bit hesitantly. Rubio said this will eventually be a great deal for the people of the United States and Venezuela, and I fully believe it can be. But I also join the growing number of Republicans and Venezuelan opposition members who fear that if Delcy and the rest of the regime aren't removed ASAP and elections aren't held within the next year, this could also end up being a disaster on multiple levels that plays right into the hands of the left — in the U.S. and throughout Latin America. You can't make deals with Marxist devils.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) appeared on Meet the Press on Sunday morning expressing this sentiment.
🚨 ÚLTIMA HORA
— Emmanuel Rincón (@EmmaRincon) August 30, 2026
El senador @tedcruz: “Tiene que haber elecciones libres en Venezuela... Delcy Rodríguez fue la vicepresidente de Maduro, él era un ilegítimo marxista y había tomado el poder en contra de la voluntad de los venezolanos...” pic.twitter.com/Q8kuqtdluu
Conservative media personality Dinesh D'Souza also made similar points.
If Trump’s Venezuela deal saves the midterms—driving down oil prices and, through them, the prices of just about everything else—it’s a master stroke. Even so, Trump/Rubio should announce a timetable for free elections before the year is out. Make Venezuela great again in 2027!
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) August 30, 2026
Others have joined in. To be fair, there is a group of opposition figures in Venezuela right now working on making the changes required to hold free and fair elections in the country (and I'll be writing more about that next week). The process is not something you can just snap your fingers and do, but it does feel like we're currently dragging our feet more than necessary on making those changes.
In the meantime, while all of this was happening, a large portion of Venezuela was without power on Saturday night. I'm hearing from people there and from people who have contacts there that this is becoming increasingly common and frustrating as power is rationed and blackouts happen daily. Personally, I just can't put politics over people — if we're going to do this correctly, their lives truly need to change too. I trust that they will. But that won't happen with Delcy in charge, even if she's merely Trump and Rubio's puppet right now.
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