Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, detained in the US, now shares a cramped cell with 18 inmates. His son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, revealed details in an interview with Der Spiegel.
Initially in solitary, Maduro exercised daily and kept a journal. After Easter, he was moved to a general cell with 18 people, half of whom speak Spanish. He talks with them, watches TV, and learns English.
Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine briefly shared the cell. Maduro Guerra found an unsent voice recording on a phone given to his father days after his arrest. The message said: "Bombs are falling, Venezuelan citizens must not stop resisting." His son called it a farewell address.
Maduro Guerra admitted the US operation was unexpected: "Their technology was new; I underestimated their strength and overestimated ours. We failed to ensure my father's security."
On January 3, US forces struck military and civilian targets in Venezuela, arresting Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. On January 5, the couple appeared in federal court in New York. Maduro denied drug trafficking charges, pleading not guilty. Currently, Delcy Rodriguez is acting president of Venezuela.
