 According to Rory Carroll, Maduro did not speak any foreign languages while serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.On September 2006, while attempting to travel back to Venezuela via Miami, Florida, Foreign Minister Maduro was briefly detained by Homeland Security officers at the John F. Kennedy International Airport for around 90 minutes, after paying for three air tickets in cash.Both Foreign Minister Maduro and President Hugo Chávez were in New York attending the 61st session of the UN General Assembly, where President Chávez called US President George W. Bush “the devil” during his speech.