Activists demand release of Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores

The ALBA Movements and the International Peoples’ Assembly (AIP) have released an international manifesto calling for the immediate release of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady and National Assembly Deputy Cilia Flores.

The manifesto alleges that the presidential couple was abducted by United States military forces on January 3, 2026, during a bombing of Venezuela, an act the signatories claim occurred without a formal declaration of war. The document asserts that the arrest violates the United Nations Charter and ignores the diplomatic immunity afforded to a sitting head of state.

Signatories, which include figures such as musician Roger Waters, journalist Ignacio Ramonet, and Brazilian leader João Pedro Stédile, demand an end to military aggression, unilateral coercive measures, and regime-change operations against Venezuela. The manifesto further calls on multilateral organizations to reject the establishment of unlimited extraterritorial jurisdiction by U.S. courts over sovereign nations.