Venezuela’s Jailed Maduro Is A Sathya Sai Baba Devotee

Photo: @Argenpoirot

India-West News Desk

NEW YORK, NY – Venezuela’s deposed President Nicolas Maduro, now in U.S. custody following his capture by American forces after a series of airstrikes on January 3, was known to share a long standing spiritual bond with India through his devotion to the late spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba.

Although Maduro was raised in the Catholic faith, he developed a deep reverence for Sai Baba that later became a visible part of his public and private life. Indian media outlets are widely reporting that a portrait of Sai Baba was displayed at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, alongside images of Venezuelan national figures such as Simón Bolívar and former president Hugo Chávez.

Maduro’s spiritual ties to Sai Baba were formed well before he assumed the presidency. In 2005, during his tenure as Venezuela’s foreign minister, he made a trip to India to meet the revered spiritual leader at Prasanthi Nilayam in Andhra Pradesh. According to reports, it was his wife, Cilia Flores, who first introduced him to Sai Baba.

The visit included Maduro, his wife, other family members, and officials from a government delegation, all of whom were granted a private audience. Images from the meeting depict Maduro seated on the floor before Sai Baba, a posture often interpreted as an expression of reverence and humility.

Venezuela has had a notable connection to the Sai movement for decades. The first Sai center established outside India was opened in Caracas in the 1970s. After Sai Baba’s death in 2011, Venezuela observed a day of national mourning, underscoring the spiritual leader’s influence in the country and the influence on Maduro.

As recently as November 23, 2025, marking the 100th birth anniversary of Sai Baba, Maduro publicly invoked the memory of the spiritual teacher. In a statement released on the occasion, he said, “I always remember him when we met… May the wisdom of this great teacher continue to enlighten us.”