VENEZUELA’S crazed dictator is bringing Christmas forward to October in a mad move even by his standards.
Nicolás Maduro said on TV that he was shuffling up the country’s holiday calendar because he was already feeling festive.
He said: “It is September and it already smells like Christmas.
“And that is why this year, in homage to you, in gratitude to you, I am going to decree the advancement of Christmas to October 1.”
The kindhearted move from Maduro – whose other warm gestures include his cops using teargas and rubber bullets to blast protesters – came only hours after a manhunt was announced for the opposition leader.
Maduro’s dubious election triumph was contested by Edmundo González, whose team said their polling data showed the latter won by a landslide.
Now in hiding, he’s being sought after on terrorism-related charges.
Maduro addressed the hunt for Gonzales in the same TV program, saying: “No-one in this country is above the laws, above the institutions.”
But that issue had to step aside because there was something far more pressing for the crooked president.
He went on about his revolutionary idea to celebrate Christmas early.
Maduro insisted: “Christmas starts on October 1.
“For everyone, Christmas has arrived, with peace, happiness and security.”
His government has in the past increased aid and food packages sent to hard-up residents during the festive season, so Christmas coming early may be a bid to gain some popularity among the country’s struggling citizens.
And it’s not the first time he’s decided to bring the calendar forward.
The Christmas holidays in 2020 started October 15 and in 2021 began on October 4 as economic crisis crippled the country.
The madman is set to commence a third term in January 2025 based on the official recent election results that have been slammed by the United States.
Authorities are yet to show any evidence for his controversial victory.
González has been forced into hiding since.
The European Union has already announced it won’t recognise Maduro’s presidency if his government fails to show proof of the election win.
Meanwhile the US says there is a mountain of evidence that Gonzalez won.
Maduro is now launching a vicious campaign of fear against his opponents, according to the United Nations.
The UN estimates his government has arrested 2,400 people since the election.
By Iona Cleave
VENEZUELA’S Putin-loving dictator has cast a dark shadow over his country for over a decade.
Nicolás Maduro, 61, is a bus driver-turned-kingpin president
The stern-faced 6ft3in socialist has ruled over the failing South American country that sits in the US’ backyard for over a decade.
Clinging onto power through a series of rigged elections and assassination attempts, Maduro has driven his country into greater economic devastation and political instability.
The UN predicts that his brutal and repressive regime, propped up by the military, has led to 20,000 extrajudicial killings and forced a quarter of its population to flee the country.
He has ferociously cracked down on opponents, mercilessly gunned down anti-government protesters and allegedly squirrelled away millions of the country’s wealth to be spent on himself.
Maduro has presided over the country for years as its problems skyrocket.
As his country suffered and starved, Maduro lived a life of luxury and reportedly racked up a fortune of £220million.
In 2018, he sparked outrage after being pictured enjoying a lavish meat banquet hosted by celebrity chef Salt Bae in Istanbul.
While Venezuelans can barely afford fresh meat, the president tucked into the infamous gold-crusted steaks.
“This is a once in a lifetime moment,” the president said as puffed on a cigar and ignored the widespread food shortage raging in his country.
Opposition leader Julio Borges, who fled Venezuela for fear of arrest, tweeted: “While Venezuelans suffer and die of hunger, Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores have a good time in one of the most expensive restaurants in the world, all with money stolen from the Venezuelan people.”
