“They have committed no crime”: Manifesto demands freedom for President Maduro and Cilia Flores

teleSUR, October 1, 2026 —

“Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores are innocent. They have committed no crime, neither in Venezuela nor in any other territory,” the manifesto states. It adds that they were kidnapped by a foreign military force and that the U.S. lacks jurisdiction and legitimate evidence.

Social organizations, political parties, unions, and intellectuals from around the world joined together in a global manifesto to demand the immediate release of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Deputy Cilia Flores, as well as their safe return to the country and the cessation of the legal proceedings against them in the United States.

“Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores are innocent. They have committed no crime, neither in Venezuela nor in any other territory. They were kidnapped by a foreign military force without any declaration of war. Therefore, the kidnappers must be arrested and brought to trial ,” states the manifesto, which is signed by figures such as British musician and activist Roger Waters, Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, and João Pedro Stédile, leader of the MST in Brazil.

The document, promoted by the ALBA Movements platform and the International Assembly of Peoples (AIP) , denounces that the presidential couple was the victim of a kidnapping perpetrated on January 3 by a foreign military force that illegally entered Venezuelan territory, stressing that this armed operation violated the Charter of the United Nations and the immunity of a sitting head of state, without an extradition request or authorization from the Security Council.

The signatory groups maintain that the criminal case in US courts lacks jurisdiction and legitimate evidence . They emphasize that the objective of this action is to subdue the Bolivarian government and hold the Venezuelan president hostage in exchange for Venezuelan oil.

“It is not Maduro and Flores who must prove their innocence: it is Washington that must prove their guilt, and to date it has not done so, nor will it be able to do so without resorting to fabricating false evidence devoid of any truth,” the document reads.

The text warns that the accusations are based on the narrative of the nonexistent Cartel of the Suns , a term used generically to justify political interventions. It also emphasizes that the treatment received by Congresswoman Cilia Flores constitutes a case of gender-based violence for political reasons.

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Demands on the international stage

“The implications of this case extend far beyond Venezuela. Allowing a foreign state to override the legal jurisdiction of another country and proceed with a trial without any basis in international law amounts to enshrining the U.S. judicial system as a global and unlimited jurisdiction ,” the manifesto warns, highlighting the serious global implications of this aggression.

To counter this attempt at extraterritorial imposition, the convening organizations call for the explicit rejection of this policy by States and multilateral organizations and demand the cessation of aggression against the South American nation, the annulment of coercive unilateral sanctions, and a definitive halt to the use of the “war on drugs” as a pretext for attacks and extrajudicial executions in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The organizations have set up the email address secretaria@albamovimientos.org.br so that more groups and intellectuals can join the manifesto.