Thousands of supporters of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro protested in the Venezuelan capital Caracas and demanded his release, Agence France-Presse reported.
The protest was organized at the call of the authorities, and it was held in parallel with the inauguration ceremony of the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez.
Maduro was captured together with his wife during a US operation on Saturday in Caracas and taken to the United States, where he is being tried on charges of narco-terrorism, to which he pleaded not guilty yesterday.
The demonstrators in Caracas chanted “Maduro, hang in there! Venezuela supports you!“. They carried signs that read: “Trump-Marco Rebio, damned murderers and kidnappers. Where is the real justice in the United States“.
Some of the protesters also waved toys with the faces of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
The protesters were joined by Nicolás Maduro Guerrera, known as Nicolasito, who is Maduro's son. He said he had “indirect communication with Maduro”, without going into details. "There, in the United States, we have a good team that supports us and will help us defend our dignity," said Nicolasito, who was applauded by the crowd.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside 10 Downing Street in London and called for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to be released. British parliamentarians were among the demonstrators, DPA and PA Media reported.
The protesters chanted "Freedom for Maduro," and were addressed by parliamentarians Jeremy Corbyn and Richard Burgoyne. They called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to stand up to US President Donald Trump.
During the protest, a small group of men trampled an American flag before tearing it up.
The prime minister is under pressure from left-wing Labour Party MPs to condemn the US military action that captured Maduro and took him to New York.
Among the international laws that the US could be found to have violated if it fails to provide justification for the attack is the UN Charter. Article 2 of the Charter states that all members of the UN must refrain from the “threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state“, the agencies recall.