Maduro sends peace and love in first prison photos after US capture
Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has declared he is "standing firm" in a series of photographs that appeared to have been taken inside a US detention centre months after his capture by American forces.
Mr Maduro and wife Cilia Flores were captured in a night-time US military operation in January and transported to detention in Brooklyn, New York.
Camera data suggests the photographs were taken on June 25, a day after Venezuela was struck by two devastating earthquakes. (Supplied: X/@NicolasMaduro)
The Trump administration accuses the duo of facilitating drug trafficking and firearms offences harmful to the US, which both Mr Maduro and Ms Flores deny.
On Sunday, local time, Mr Maduro said in a post on X that the photographs were "a small gift" for his "grandsons and granddaughters, boys and girls, and all of the noble people that love us".
"I want you to know that we are standing firm, with a heart full of your love,"
he said.
"Infinite thanks for each word, each gesture, each blessing."
In the images, Mr Maduro wears a grey tracksuit, white Nike running shoes and a pair of glasses while smiling and making peace signs.
Camera data attached to the images showed they were taken on the evening of June 25, a day after Venezuela was struck by two devastating earthquakes in one of the country's worst disasters in more than a century.
The death toll from those quakes stands at more than 6,500, according to figures released by President of the Venezuelan National Assembly Jorge Rodríguez.
The ABC confirmed the images were not created using artificial intelligence, but was unable to independently verify the location or time they were taken.
It remains unclear who took the images of Mr Maduro or how they were released from inside the US detention centre.
Mr Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured by US forces in January and transported into detention in New York. (Reuters: Adam Gray)
Message followed US oil deal
Mr Maduro's online post also came two days after his successor, interim President Delcy Rodriguez, announced a "historic" oil agreement allowing the United States to operate oil fields in Venezuela.
Ms Rodriguez is governing under intense pressure from the Trump administration and says she has "chosen the path of diplomacy" with the US because she wants Venezuela to become an "energy powerhouse".
Mr Maduro does not have access to newspapers or the internet in prison, but he is allowed to speak by telephone with his family and lawyers for about 500 minutes a month, with a maximum of 15 minutes per call, according to AFP citing a source close to the former leader.
His son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, says his father is in good shape and spends his time studying the Bible.
Mr Maduro's post included a Bible passage that quoted the Apostle Paul on the concept of a victory "thanks to the ones who loved us" and a pledge that "Venezuela will be reborn".
"I believe that he was prepared for this," Mr Maduro Guerra told Spanish news outlet El Pais in May.
"I know that he feels that his victory is that he is still alive."
Mr Maduro and his wife's trial in the US will begin on June 1, 2027, a federal court in New York announced last month.
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