Panama President Mulino Claims that Nicolás Maduro Should be Imprisoned for Drug Trafficking

The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, maintained that the Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro “is rightfully imprisoned,” considering that his capture after a military action by the United States army was a direct consequence of his conduct, which he openly described as criminal, linked to drug trafficking and authoritarianism.  Speaking to news reporters, Mulino emphasized that Maduro brought about his own fate after missing multiple opportunities to negotiate a democratic solution to the deep Venezuelan crisis.  “He’s rightfully in jail, and he brought it on himself, for being a thug, a drug trafficker, and whatever else you want to call him,” the Panamanian president said, making his position clear regarding the Chavista leader’s legal future.

Mulino Compares Maduro with Noriega

The Panamanian president compared Maduro’s situation to that of former dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega in 1989, recalling that both had unique opportunities to avoid a forced outcome, but opted for confrontation.  Mulino reiterated that in Venezuela, as in Panama, there was a legitimate election, held in July 2024, in which he stated Edmundo González Urrutia won overwhelmingly, with popular support and under the opposition leadership of María Corina Machado.

Panama will not Recognize a Government Headed by Delcy Rodríguez.

The Panamanian chief executive warned that his government will not recognize under any pretext a possible government headed by Delcy Rodríguez, a key figure in Maduro’s inner circle, which he described as an attempt to perpetuate the regime.  “That would be ‘Madurism without Maduro’,” Mulino declared.  The president stressed that Panama is the custodian of the Venezuelan electoral records, which he indicated clearly reflect the majority will of the Venezuelan people.

“If Delcy Rodríguez Doesn’t Do What is Right, She’s Going to Pay a Very High Price, Probably Higher than Maduro,” Trump said

US President Donald Trump asserted in an interview with The Atlantic magazine on Sunday that if Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodríguez does not do the right thing, she will end up worse off than Nicolás Maduro, imprisoned in New York after a spectacular US military and police operation.  “If she doesn’t do what is right, she’s going to pay a very high price, probably higher than Maduro,” Trump stated.  The tone in this telephone interview contrasts sharply with the one the president used on Saturday at his press conference, in which he said that Rodríguez is the legitimate interlocutor for a transition process in Venezuela because, in Maduro’s absence, she is the rightful heir. 

“She is essentially willing to do what we believe is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” he affirmed at the press conference, where he also stated that after capturing Maduro, Washington would govern the country for as long as necessary.  Trump also softened his stance against regime change and nation-building. “Rebuilding there and changing the regime, whatever you want to call it, is better than what we have now; it couldn’t be worse,” he said, referring to Venezuela.  “Rebuilding in the case of Venezuela is not a bad thing,” he insisted, later adding that the country is a “disaster in every respect.”  Trump denied that what they are beginning in Venezuela has parallels with the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq in 2003 during the presidency of George W. Bush. 

“I wasn’t responsible for Iraq.  That was Bush.  You have to ask him, but we should never have gone into Iraq. That was the beginning of the Middle East disaster,” he stated.  Trump’s warnings coincide with statements by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio , who said this Sunday that Rodríguez “is someone you can work with,” unlike the deposed Venezuelan president, who, he said, broke all the agreements made with Washington.  Hours after Maduro’s capture, Delcy Rodríguez reacted strongly on Saturday, calling the US operation an “illegal and illegitimate kidnapping” and asserting that Venezuela “will not be anyone’s colony.”