Captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro flashes smile and peace sign in new jail photos

Captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro has been pictured flashing a smile and a peace sign in new photographs released from federal prison. Maduro, 63, is seen grinning in a gray tracksuit and white sneakers in the images from Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, dated June 25. US Special Forces detained the former Venezuelan president and his wife Cilia Flores at their high-security compound during a shock overnight raid on January 3. Since then, Maduro has slimmed down in jail and frequently appears relaxed and even happy in photographs showing him wearing shackles and tracksuits. Maduro faces charges in the US related to narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking and illegal weapons offenses, according to documents released by the Department of Justice (DoJ). Both he and Flores have pleaded not guilty to all charges. It comes as President Donald Trump announced last week that he has landed the 'biggest oil deal in world history' after entering a sweeping agreement with the new administration in Venezuela.The president revealed on Friday that he has secured control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in a move he says will slash gas prices for ordinary Americans.Trump credited Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for brokering the deal with Interim President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez. Captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro has been pictured flashing a smile and a peace sign in new photographs released from federal prison Maduro, 63, is seen grinning in a gray tracksuit and white sneakers in the images from Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, dated June 25'This Historic Transaction MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves, greatly increases our Oil Supply, and will substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans, long into the future, while helping to continue to set Venezuela on a course toward Tremendous Success and Great Prosperity,' the president said on Truth Social.Trump also promised the deal came at 'no cost to the American taxpayer.''This Transaction will greatly strengthen the already growing relationship between Venezuela and the United States!' he added.The deal was made along side private businesses, which Axios reported includes American oil firms.It is the second agreement Trump has made with the new Venezuelan government since he captured Maduro.The agreement allows for the United States to partner with an unnamed private operator in Venezuela to create a new private company to take hold of the reserves, a US official familiar with the the deal told The Daily Mail.The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, added that Rodríguez granted the company 100-year rights to develop the oil fields.The deal gives the United States 55 percent effective output of the new private company - including an ownership stake and rights to buy oil at cost. The president has openly stated that the military operation to depose leader Maduro was, in part, an attempt to extract some of oil-rich Venezuela's stock. Maduro is pictured January 5 Flores was also detained from the high-security compound during the raid on January 3The company would be the second largest corporate holder of proven reserves after Saudi Aramco, according to the official.The president has openly stated that the military operation to oust Maduro was, in part, an attempt to extract some of oil-rich Venezuela's stock.Rodríguez´s government in a statement said the deal involves the development of 17 fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels. It said the agreement could draw $100 billion in investment into Venezuela's oil industry and yield over $209 billion in taxes for Caracas.'This initiative is the result of the strengthening of relations between Venezuela and the United States, and it will facilitate a significant flow of investment aimed at the recovery and reconstruction of strategic infrastructure for the development of our hydrocarbons industry,' Rodriguez said.In a post to X, Secretary of State Rubio called the deal 'a huge win for both the American and Venezuelan people.''It demonstrates how President Trump's bold foreign policy is driving America First wins: securing stable reserves and low-cost oil in our Hemisphere and lowering gas prices here at home,' he said.'For the Venezuelan people, this deal will bring nearly $100 billion in private investment, support thousands of high-paying jobs, and drive the reconstruction of Venezuela's economy.'Trump faces mounting pressure to address high gas prices as the war in Iran reaches a six-month milestone with no conclusion in sight. It comes as President Donald Trump announced last week that he has landed the 'biggest oil deal in world history'. Trump credited Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for brokering the deal with Interim President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez Maduro is pictured with his wife Cilia Flores in October 2019. They are both detained in the USThe US has tapped its strategic petroleum reserves, which in early August fell below 300 million barrels, down by more than 100 million barrels since the start of 2026.In the days following Maduro's ouster in January, Trump floated the idea of US oil companies returning to Venezuela to tap its oil reserves.Trump has argued that Venezuela stole US oil when former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's moved decades ago to nationalize hundreds of foreign-owned assets, including those owned by American oil companies.Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world, with an estimated 303 billion barrels of crude oil in the ground.The reserves are equivalent to about 17 percent of the world's supply, according to the US Energy Information Administration.Unlike other parts of the world, where geologists have to search for untapped oil, the reserves under Venezuela's soil are largely mapped and known, experts say.But because of dilapidated infrastructure, the country only produces about one percent of the world´s oil. The deal is the second Trump has made with the new Venezuelan government since early January's late night deposition of MaduroThe US-Israel war against Iran has led to a dramatic slowdown of Gulf oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz, which about 20 percent of the world's petroleum passed through prior to the conflict.The average price of gas in the US stood at about $4.09 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA. The average price was $3.21 at the same time last year.Maduro, meanwhile, will remain in federal prison ahead of his trial in June 2027. It's unclear how long the trial is expected to last. US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein also set a September 2 deadline for the first round of legal motions from Maduro's lawyers seeking a dismissal of the case. Defense lawyer Barry Pollack told the judge he would seek to dismiss the case ​on immunity grounds.