Maduro loyalists stage modest rally as government courts US

Several hundred supporters of deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro staged protests in the capital Saturday, a week after his capture by US forces, as the interim government moved to revive ties with Washington and began releasing some prisoners.

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Waving flags and placards bearing the face of the moustachioed former leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, about 1,000 protesters rallied in western Caracas, with a few hundred more gathering in the eastern Petare district - far smaller crowds than those Maduro's camp had mobilised in the past.

"I'll march as often as I have to until Nicolas and Cilia come back," said Soledad Rodriguez, 69, referring to the couple who were taken by US forces to New York to face trial on drug-trafficking charges.

"I trust blindly that they will return - they have been kidnapped," she said.

Notably absent from the rallies were senior figures from the interim government, which has said it is reviving diplomatic contacts with Washington and discussing possible cooperation on US President Donald Trump's demands regarding oil.