Saturday, October 3, 2026. Occupied Lenapehoking (New York City). – The rally to demand the freedom of the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro and the First Combatant of Venezuela, Cilia Flores, outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York City, was on Saturday, October 3, 2026.
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New Yorkers celebrated the birthday of First Lady Cilia Flores outside the Metropolitan Detention Center. Cilia Flores was born on October 15, 1956. On October 15, 2026, First Combatant Cilia Flores will be 70 years old.
Supporters of President Maduro and First Combatant Flores will be outside the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York at Worth St and Baxter St in Manhattan, New York City, on Thursday, October 8, 2026 at 9:30 AM, to demand the release of Cilia Flores, who is dying at the Metropolitan Detention Center (more information below).
Saturday, October 3, 2026, marked 9 months since the president of the United States of America Donald Trump bombed Venezuela, murdered at least 100 people from Venezuela and Cuba and kidnapped the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro and the First Lady, First Combatant of Venezuela, Cilia Flores.
President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores are being held captive at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
“Jason A. Richman, a senior US federal prosecutor who led the case against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady and National Assembly Deputy Cilia Flores, has left the New York prosecutor’s office. His departure comes as the defense challenges Washington’s authority to prosecute the Venezuelan head of state, kidnapped alongside Flores during the January 3 US military aggression,” reported OrinocoTribune.com on October 2, 2026.
Orinoco Tribune adds, “Diario VEA described the departure as a significant loss for the US prosecution, while Bloomberg’s original report also identified the loss of an experienced national security lawyer ahead of the trial.”
Jason Richman’s employment ended on September 25, 2026.
On Wednesday, September 2, 2026, President Nicolás Maduro‘s defense attorneys in New York City Barry Pollack and Anna Estevao filed a 60-page motion in Manhattan federal court asking U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to dismiss the drug-trafficking and narco-terrorism indictment against Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Judge Hellerstein scheduled oral arguments for Tuesday, November 17, 2026, on motions to dismiss the indictment.
Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Venezuelan First Combatant Cilia Flores will be outside the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York at Worth St and Baxter St in Manhattan, NYC, on November 17, 2026.
“Join us for our monthly picket in front of the MDC! It has been NINE months since the US illegally kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores from Venezuela. We will not stop, we will not rest until they are freed!
ANCHORING ORGANIZATIONS
- ALL AFRICAN PEOPLE’S REVOLUTIONARY PARTY
- ANTI-IMPERIALIST SCHOLARS COLLECTIVE
- BLACK ALLIANCE FOR PEACE NYC/NJ
- BRONX ANTIWAR
- BROOKLYN AGAINST WAR
- CODE PINK
- CUNY FOR PALESTINE
- DIASPORA PA’LANTE COLLECTIVE
- FREEDOM ROAD SOCIALIST ORGANIZATION
- PALAVER COLLECTIVE
- PROLIBERTAD
- VENEZUELA SOLIDARITY NETWORK
- UNITED NATIONAL ANTIWAR COALITION
- WORKERS WORLD PARTY
NO U.S. INTERVENTION! MONEY FOR JOBS AND EDUCATION, NOT FOR WAR AND OCCUPATION! FREE MADURO, FREE FLORES!” said Brooklyn Against War on September 24, 2026.
RELEASE CILIA FLORES!
Thursday, October 8, 2026. 9:30 AM.
Worth St and Baxter St.
Manhattan, New York City.
“PRISON IS NO PLACE FOR SURGERY!
SUPPORT WOMEN’S HEALTH!
RELEASE CILIA FLORES!
Cilia Flores’ is fighting to be released under house arrest so she can get life saving heart surgery and recover. Instead, the U.S. government, who kidnapped her in the first place, is demanding that this surgery is performed in prison.
This is an outrage! This is gendered and imperialist violence! We stand with Cilia Flores!” said Brooklyn Against War on October 2, 2026.
“On September 9, a motion was filed for Venezuela’s First Lady Cilia Flores, petitioning for her release from the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), and for her to be instead placed under house arrest in New York City, due to the severity of her heart condition.
After she and President Nicolás Maduro were illegally kidnapped by the U.S. in January of this year, her health has rapidly deteriorated throughout her imprisonment.
First Lady Flores is the 69-year-old wife of Venezuelan President Maduro and a sitting deputy of the Venezuelan National Assembly. She was lead attorney for Hugo Chávez’s defense, securing his release from prison in 1994, and emerged throughout the 1990s and 2000s as a key figure in the victory of the Bolivarian Revolution. She was the first woman to serve as president of the National Assembly, from 2006 to 2011, before becoming attorney general of Venezuela from 2012 to 2013. In 2017, she was once again elected to the National Assembly. Throughout her career, she has remained a staunch defender of human rights and the achievements of the Bolivarian Revolution,” reported Fight Back! News on September 13, 2026.
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Updated on October 6, 2026.

Martes 3 de febrero de 2026. Lenapehoking (ciudad de Nueva York) – Protesta en apoyo del PRESIDENTE DE VENEZUELA, NICOLÁS MADURO Y LA PRIMERA COMBATIENTE, CILIA FLORES, afuera del Metropolitan Detention Center en Brooklyn, ciudad de Nueva York, el 3 de febrero de 2026. Foto por Javier Soriano/www.JavierSoriano.com.
FILE PHOTO
Tuesday, February 3, 2026. Lenapehoking (New York City) – Protest in support of the PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA, NICOLÁS MADURO, AND FIRST COMBATANT, CILIA FLORES, outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York City, on February 3, 2026. Photo by Javier Soriano/www.JavierSoriano.com.