Nicolás Maduro Guerra, son of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro Moros, threatened to storm New York City and “take the White House” in response to President Donald Trump’s suggestion that a U.S. military option against the socialist regime existed this weekend.
The remarks triggered a wave of mockery on social media as the younger Maduro, a member of the fabricated “national constituent assembly” (ANC), appeared to believe the White House was located in New York, not Washington, D.C. Opposition supporters refer to Maduro Guerra as “Nicolasito,” or “Little Nicolás,” on social media and in opposition news outlets.
The elder Maduro created the ANC to illegally usurp the power of the democratically-elected, opposition-held National Assembly. The ANC is tasked with stripping all opposition statesmen of their power and drafting a new constitution to cement Maduro’s regime in power indefinitely.
In remarks before the ANC, Maduro Guerra accused the anti-socialist opposition of supporting a U.S. military invasion of Venezuela. “The silence of the opposition coalitions is thundering, a thunderous silence that speaks for itself,” he said. “Suspicious. They must have a lot to lose over there in the Empire [the United States] to not denounce the largest threat to our soil since independence from Spain.”
Maduro Guerra did not mention the millions in luxury assets controlled by chavistas in the United States.
Addressing the American president, the younger Maduro urged, “Solve your own problems, Mr. Trump, there are plenty,” before issuing his warning.
“If the United States wants to stain our fatherland soil, the firearms will reach New York and we will take the White House,” Maduro Guerra vowed. “Vietnam would look small. That isn’t what we want. We have never been and will never be a people of war.”
The younger Maduro’s remarks follow comments to the press on Friday by President Trump in which he refused to rule out a military solution to the crisis engulfing Venezuela. Under Maduro’s socialist rule, Venezuela has largely run out of most necessary medications and basic food goods, despite being home to the world’s largest known oil reserves. In response to this decline, Venezuelans have taken to the streets to protest every day since late March, met with violent crackdowns ordered by Maduro and led by the nation’s military.
“Venezuela is a mess, it is very dangerous mess, and a very sad situation,” President Trump said on Friday, speaking at his golf club in New Jersey. “We have many options for Venezuela, I’m not ruling out military options.”
Trump explained that he could not rule out the possibility because “people are suffering and they are dying, we have many options for Venezuela including a possible military option if necessary.”
Less that one day before this declaration, Maduro Moros announced on television that he ordered his foreign minister to reach out to the White House to schedule a “personal conversation” with Trump. “Mister Donald Trump, here is my hand, if you want a hand. Here is my word that I have it,” Maduro said before the ANC.
Maduro had previously begun referring to Trump as “mister emperor” and had repeatedly demanded he “go home,” claiming direct U.S. intervention on behalf of the opposition. Last month, the U.S. Department of the Treasury personally sanctioned Maduro Moros, banning him from the country and prohibiting U.S. citizens from conducting business with him.
“Nicolasito” is a relative newcomer to the Venezuelan political scene. According to Spanish media, Maduro Guerra studied economics in college and reportedly boasts an extensive career as a flutist. He made his first major headlines in 2015 after a video surfaced of him dancing while being showered with dollars at a Syrian wedding. The 27-year-old resurfaced with political commentary in July, lamenting that “live people have died” in the months-long protests against his father.
Following the July 30 election to establish the illegal ANC, Maduro Guerra was appointed as one of the hundreds of socialist legislators tasked with drafting a new constitution to keep Maduro Moros in power—along with his stepmother Cilia Flores and a who’s who of prominent chavistas including Diosdado Cabello and Delcy Rodríguez.
In an interview this weekend with the Colombian television station NTN24, a former Venezuelan military captain claimed that he had personal knowledge that Maduro Guerra was involved in transferring “unknown packages” from Venezuela to people “close to the Venezuelan government” with ties to Mexican drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. The same captain, Sunny Balza Dugarte, claimed Maduro Guerra was regularly involved in “orgies with dozens of women.”
The Venezuelan government has addressed these allegations.
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