Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro will emerge as an enduring political symbol similar to Simon Bolivar, Fidel Castro, and Che Guevara, secretary of the Decolonial International Network Foundation, Sandew Hira, has told RT.

Maduro was kidnapped along with his wife, Cilia Flores, during a US raid on Caracas on Saturday. Washington accuses the Venezuelan leader of narco-trafficking and weapons offenses – charges he has denied.

Hira drew parallels between Maduro’s detention and the fate of anti-imperialist leaders throughout history, arguing that attempts to remove such figures often elevate their political stature rather than diminish it.

“Maduro has now been kidnapped, and Washington thinks that is the end,” he said. “But this is just the beginning of the next phase of the liberation struggle.”

Hira compared Maduro’s situation to that of Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint Louverture, who was captured by French forces in 1802, two years before Haiti achieved independence. The author of ‘Decolonizing the Mind’ highlighted that Venezuela’s political tradition is closely tied to earlier liberation movements across Latin America and the Caribbean, including those in Cuba, Nicaragua and Grenada.

According to Hira, calls to free Maduro and his wife could become a powerful rallying cry, similar to international campaigns surrounding figures such as Nelson Mandela. “Maduro will grow into an international figure,” he said, “like Bolivar, Fidel and Che.”

He also argued that leaders opposing US influence are routinely portrayed negatively in Western media, while enjoying strong support at home and across the Global South.

“All anti-imperialist forces are branded as enemies,” Hira said, adding that such narratives are increasingly questioned outside the West.

Hira maintained that the removal of Maduro would not weaken Venezuela’s political system, saying state institutions continue to function and the country remains under domestic control rather than foreign administration.