"Hundreds of demonstrators rallied in Caracas on Wednesday, demanding the release of now former president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, captured by US forces in an operation carried out on January 3. Footage shows United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) supporters singing, dancing, and listening to speeches while holding placards reading 'Trump-Maria Corina Machado, awarded killers of Venezuelans', 'Hope is in the streets', and 'I am innocent, I am a prisoner of war, I am still president' alongside Maduro's image. National Assembly deputy Rodbexa Poleo said the mobilisation marks a protest campaign, carried out in line with Maduro's call to maintain "in any circumstance, maximum organisation, maximum mobilisation of the people, maximum popular awareness and unity, unity, unity and more unity." "We are here, 12 days after the kidnapping of our president, Nicolas Maduro, of our first combatant, Cilia Flores, demanding that the North American empire return our president, elected by the will of the people," the lawmaker proclaimed. She persisted, "They (the United States), from their arrogance, having neither the votes nor the support of the people, decide to behave in this way through hatred, through destabilisation and through the blockade." More than one hundred cities across Venezuela reportedly mobilised to demand Maduro's release. Maduro and his wife, accused of narco-terrorism by the United States, were captured in the so-called 'Operation Absolute Resolution', led by US forces, which involved attacks in Caracas and three states near the capital. At least 100 people were killed and 'a similar number wounded' as a result of the operation, according to Venezuela's Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace, Diosdado Cabello. Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez reaffirmed Maduro's authority despite his imprisonment, stating that "there is a government, that of President Nicolas Maduro" and that she has "the responsibility to take charge while his kidnapping lasts." "