Maduro’s dances weighed on the attack on Venezuela, says NYT

Nicolás Maduro’s recent appearances on Venezuelan state TV, dancing and singing in English, in a playful tone in front of supporters, in defense of “peace forever” (“peace forever” (“peace forever”) and against the “mad war” (“not crazy war”) were interpreted as mockery by members of United States President Donald Trump’s team and helped convince him to attack Venezuela.

This is according to a report published this Sunday (4) by New York Times about how the White House decided, after Maduro’s capture, to replace Vice President Delcy Rodríguez in his place.

Two people interviewed for the report on condition of anonymity said that Maduro’s frequent public dances and other displays of indifference in recent weeks helped convince some Trump aides that the Venezuelan president was mocking them and trying to test what he believed to be a bluff. According to the newspaper, at the end of December Maduro rejected an ultimatum from Trump to leave office and go into “luxurious exile” in Türkiye.

The text mentions Maduro’s participation, on December 31st, in an official event, in which he danced to electronic music with his voice repeating the slogans “peace yes” and “no to war”. “It’s the number one song of the Venezuelan season, it couldn’t be removed from the Billboard list”, he joked.

“Victory! Forever, forever, forever. No more crazy war! Peace! Forever, forever, forever!” he said from the stage before the song. “Tell the people of the United States: no to war. We don’t want war in the Caribbean and South America. No, no to war, yes to peace. No to crazy war, no to crazy war!”, he repeated.

This Saturday (3), after the bombings of Caracas and the capture of Maduro, the White House published posts on the X network reacting to the dictator’s provocations.

In one of them, shared by Trump on his own social network, Truth Social, an edited video was published in which Maduro appears in speeches challenging the US government to go to Venezuela and capture him. “Come and get me! I’m waiting for you here, in Miraflores. Don’t delay, cowards!”

After that, images of the eagle, which is the symbol of American power, appear, as well as other clippings of scenes from the bombing of Venezuelan territory by American armed forces from the operation that culminated in the capture of Maduro.

The White House even published a meme in which Trump appears over the expression “FAFO” (a slang acronym “fuck around and find out”) and the caption “No games” (in Portuguese, “no games”). The slang has a warning tone and can be translated into something like “play and then bear the consequences”.