Chinese Diplomats Arrived in Venezuela for Talks with Maduro Hours Before US Strikes — And Are Still There: Report
Screenshot via Instagram.
Hours before Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured during a U.S. military operation, he met with Chinese diplomats, who are reportedly still in Caracas.
News broke in the wee hours of Saturday morning that President Donald Trump’s administration had conducted air strikes in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital city, captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and brought them to the U.S.
The strikes sparked loud criticism for multiple reasons, chiefly because Trump had not sought authorization from Congress beforehand and because of his pardon in December for Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former president of Honduras who was convicted of drug trafficking. Others have cited Maduro’s brutal oppression of his own people and how he seized power for a third term in July 2024 despite election results showing opposition leader Edmundo González had won.
Friday evening, Maduro met with several Chinese officials, including Qiu Xiaoqi, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Special Envoy for Latin America and the Caribbean; Lan Hu, China’s ambassador to Venezuela; Liu Bo, Director of the Latin America and Caribbean Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry; Wang Hao, Deputy Director-General of the same department; Liu Zhen, regional attaché; and several other top diplomats and CCP officials.
Maduro shared several photos and videos from his meeting with the Chinese officials on his Instagram page.
View this post on Instagram
“Had a pleasant meeting with Qui Xiaoqi, Special Envoy of President Xi Jinping,” the caption read (Spanish translation to English by Instagram). “We reaffirm our commitment to the strategic relationship that advances and strengthens in various areas for the construction of the world #Multipolar of development and peace. China and Venezuela! United!”
View this post on Instagram
“Received President Xi Jinping’s Special Envoy for Latin America and the Caribbean, Qiu Xiaoqi,” read the caption on the second post (again, translation by Instagram). “A fraternal encounter that reaffirms the strong ties of brotherhood and friendship between China and Venezuela. Every Test and Every Time!”
In a social media post, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the “U.S.’s blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president.”
“Such hegemonic acts of the U.S. seriously violate international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region. China firmly opposes it,” the post continued. “We call on the U.S. to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and stop violating other countries’ sovereignty and security.”
Because of the timing of the meeting and the early morning U.S. strikes, it is widely believed that the Chinese diplomats were still in Caracas during the strike and capture of Maduro, as multiple reporters following the region reported. Thus far, no reports have said the Chinese diplomats were known to have left before the strikes.
Laura Loomer, the far-right activist and staunch Trump ally who recently became a member of the Pentagon Press corps, was among those who posted reports that the Chinese delegation was “still in Venezuela” during the strikes. Loomer has garnered more than her share of controversy over the years but has managed to cling to her spot in Trump’s inner circle and is known frequently speak with the president.
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