Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady and National Assembly Deputy Cilia Flores released a joint message of gratitude on Saturday addressed to the Venezuelan people and to men and women of goodwill around the world.

The statement, dated this Saturday in New York and published by Deputy Minister of Communications Management Gustavo Villapol, confirmed that the couple had received the outpouring of public support directed at them in recent weeks.

"We have received your communications, your messages, your emails, your letters, and your prayers," the statement read.

The couple expressed that every word of affection and every gesture of support had strengthened them both emotionally and spiritually, adding that they remained "steadfast, serene, and in constant prayer."

Maduro and Flores conveyed deep admiration for what they described as the Venezuelan people's capacity to remain united during difficult times and to express solidarity both within the country and beyond its borders.

"That love you send us becomes moral strength, inner fortitude, and a commitment to the highest values of life," the statement emphasized.

The president and first lady called on the public to continue building national peace, unity, reconciliation, and dialogue, urging that no one stray from the path of coexistence and mutual respect.

"Let no one abandon the path of dialogue, coexistence, and respect, for that is the path of the homeland, the path of good," they stated.

Drawing on the Gospel of Luke, the couple added: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

"May you ask with faith, seek with hope, and knock with love, because God's paths open for peoples who persevere in truth, in peace, and in light," they wrote.

The statement concluded with an expression of gratitude for the messages, letters, and prayers received, and closed with a spiritual embrace extended to all supporters.

"Our gratitude, our prayer, and our spiritual embrace are with you today, tomorrow, and always," the couple declared.

Maduro and Flores were taken captive on January 3rd during what Venezuelan authorities have characterized as a U.S. military aggression against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, an incident that left more than one hundred people dead — among them 32 Cuban fighters — along with numerous injured individuals and significant damage to civilian and military infrastructure.