Senator Imee Marcos likened the United States’ “abduction” of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to her own family’s experience during the Martial Law era.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, 7 January, Marcos said it was not the first time that the United States had intervened in another country’s internal political affairs.
"May tunog personal ito dahil noong 1986, ang paniwala ng aking ama, kinidnap talaga kami, dinala kami sa Hickam Air Base sa Honolulu pati sa Anderson Air Base sa Guam kaya nangangamba talaga ako kasi personal ang dating nito sa akin (It is personal to me because it reminds me of what happened to us in 1986. My father believed we were really kidnapped when we were taken to Hickam Air Base in Honolulu and also to Anderson Air Base in Guam. So I'm really scared because this feels personal to me)," Marcos said.
"Ako ang kahuli-hulihang magtatanggol kay Maduro (I will be the last person to defend Maduro)," she added.
The senator was referring to the aftermath of the EDSA People Power Revolution in February 1986, when the Marcos family, including her, her brother President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., and her father, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., were flown to Hawaii aboard U.S. Air Force aircraft.
Marcos, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, also stressed the importance of strengthening the country’s defense posture.
"This is a very, very dangerous time. We have to be agile and open to discussion, to debate, to dialogue with our defense partners as well as our allies and neighbors in Asia," she said.
"I think we have to broaden and expand our foreign policy notions to include what has occurred," she added.
Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro appeared in a Manhattan court on Monday, pleading not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges, two days after being taken by U.S. forces during a raid on his home in Caracas.
U.S. President Donald Trump, in a weekend press conference, said the United States would now “run” Venezuela until it transitions to a new government.