Venezuela’s Interim Leader: US Capture of Maduro Has ‘Zionist Undertones’
Ailin Vilches Arguello
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez attends her swearing in ceremony as Venezuela’s interim president at the National Assembly, after the US launched a strike on the country and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 5, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
Venezuela’s interim leader appeared to accuse Israel or Jewry more broadly of being behind a US military operation that struck state infrastructure and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, echoing a familiar pattern of invoking antisemitic tropes during periods of domestic instability.
“Governments around the world are simply shocked that the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is the victim and target of an attack of this nature, which undoubtedly has Zionist undertones,” Vice President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodríguez said in a televised speech on Sunday. “It is truly shameful.”
Rodríguez, 56, was formally sworn in on Monday as the country’s interim president. She demanded the “immediate release” of Maduro and his wife following their capture by US military forces on Saturday, arguing that the arrests were made under false pretenses as part of a broader effort to impose regime change and seize the country’s natural resources.
Maduro and his wife were flown to New York City, where they appeared in federal court on Monday facing drug-trafficking and other criminal charges. Both pleaded not guilty, and the next court date was set for March 17.
Maduro, who is accused of overseeing a cocaine-trafficking network that partnered with several violent groups in Latin America, faces criminal counts for narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.
Amid long-standing tensions between Israel and Venezuela, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Maduro’s ouster and praised US President Donald Trump over the operation.
“Congratulations, President [Trump] for your bold and historic leadership on behalf of freedom and justice,” the Israeli leader wrote in a post on X. “I salute your decisive resolve and the brilliant action of your brave soldiers.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also praised the US operation, saying, “Israel stands alongside the freedom-loving Venezuelan people, who have suffered under Maduro’s illegal tyranny.”
Rodríguez’s remarks echoed a long history of antisemitic statements by Maduro and other Venezuelan officials, who have consistently taken a strong anti-Israel stance.
Maduro has previously claimed that “Zionists” were facilitating Venezuela’s takeover as the United States intensified its recent military campaign targeting drug trafficking and “narco-terrorist” networks near the country.
“There are those who want to hand this country over to the devils — you know who, right? The far-right Zionists want to hand this country over to the devils,” Maduro said during a televised speech in November.
In 2024, Maduro also blamed “international Zionism” for the large-scale anti-government protests that erupted across the country following the presidential elections, in which he claimed victory amid widespread claims of fraud.
The Venezuelan leader has a long history of antisemitic rhetoric, falsely claiming that Netanyahu isn’t an “authentic Jew,” accusing Israel of seeking to dominate Central Asia and the Middle East and to control the US, and repeatedly praising Hamas and other terrorist groups as “freedom fighters.”
Hamas has strongly condemned the US operation in Venezuela, calling it a “grave violation of international law” and an “assault on the sovereignty of an independent state.”
“This aggression represents a continuation of America’s unjust policies and interference, which are driven by its imperial ambitions,” the Palestinian terrorist group said in a statement on Saturday.
“Such US policies have plunged several nations into conflicts posing a direct threat to international peace and security,” the statement read.
Venezuela cut diplomatic ties with Israel in 2009 under then-President Hugo Chávez, and the two countries have had no formal relations since then.
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