Venezuela’s vice president calls for the release of Maduro and his wife

Several reports suggested on Saturday that Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela leader Nicolas Maduro’s vice president, is reportedly in Russia while the rest of Maduro’s inner circle appears to be intact after U.S. strikes in the country.

Russia has denied that Rodríguez is there, calling it a “hoax.”  

The country condemned the U.S. operation that led to Maduro’s capture. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia stands in “firm solidarity with the people of Venezuela in the face of armed aggression,” according to the ministry.

Reuters had reported that Rodríguez is no longer in the country. According to Newsweek, Jorge Rodriguez, her brother who leads the Venezuelan National Assembly, is still in Caracas.

Diosdado Cabello Rondón, who the State Department describes as a wanted terrorist, survived the U.S. attack in Venezuela that captured Maduro based on a video circulating on social media. 

Cabello Rondón can be seen surrounded by military and police in the video calling the U.S. “terrorists” for capturing Maduro.

Maduro’s inner circle could pose a threat to the transition to the opposition government, which would likely be led by María Corina Machado.

On Saturday afternoon, Rodríguez called for the release of Maduro and his wife.

Prior to that, Trump said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a conversation with her and that “she’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to Make Venezuela Great Again.”