Trump accuses ousted Venezuelan leader of imitating his dance moves

At a gathering of congressional Republicans in Washington on Tuesday, US president Donald Trump accused the ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro of imitating his signature dance moves. Maduro faces terrorism and drug trafficking charges. Trump said, "He gets up there and he tries to imitate my dance a little bit," in remarks that appeared to reference a report about Maduro's regular public dancing.

That report said Maduro had appeared on stage to a techno remix of his mantra "No War, Yes Peace" and that those displays of nonchalance in recent weeks contributed to the White House's decision to abduct him, according to the New York Times. The late Hugo Chávez frequently danced at rallies.

US forces seized Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a raid on Saturday that left dozens dead and stunned Venezuela's government but left it in place. Trump’s comments appeared designed to add to Maduro’s humiliation a day after his arraignment hearing at a federal court in Manhattan.

Speaking at the rebranded Trump-Kennedy Centre in Washington, Trump also accused Maduro of being violent and of killing millions of people and said "they have a torture chamber in the middle of Caracas that they’re closing up," a claim he did not elaborate on. He also defended his own dancing, saying "She hates it when I dance.

Key Topics

World, Donald Trump, Nicolas Maduro, Cilia Flores, Hugo Chavez, Washington