Venezuela’s ousted president Nicolás Maduro is due to appear before a federal court in Manhattan on Monday, January 5, on narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges first filed by U.S. prosecutors in 2020 and expanded following his capture during a U.S. military operation in Caracas.
Maduro, 63, and his wife, Cilia Flores, are being held in a New York detention facility ahead of the hearing, scheduled for 12:00 p.m. EST before U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.
U.S. prosecutors have charged Maduro with narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and multiple weapons-related offenses. According to the indictment, Maduro is accused of leading a cartel of Venezuelan political and military officials who allegedly worked with drug trafficking groups and U.S.-designated terrorist organisations to smuggle large quantities of cocaine into the United States over several decades. If convicted, Maduro faces decades to life in prison on each count.
The charges stem from a case first filed in 2020 and expanded in a new indictment unsealed on Saturday, U.S. prosecutors said. Prosecutors allege that Maduro personally oversaw a state-sponsored cocaine trafficking network that worked with organizations including Mexico’s Sinaloa and Zetas cartels, Colombia’s FARC, and Venezuela-based criminal groups. The indictment further claims that during his tenure as foreign minister, Maduro arranged diplomatic cover for drug trafficking flights and sold Venezuelan passports to known traffickers.
Maduro was detained during a U.S. military raid in Caracas early Saturday, following reports of explosions and low-flying aircraft over civilian and military sites. U.S. president Donald Trump later confirmed that American forces had carried out what he described as a “large-scale strike” and captured Maduro and his wife, who were subsequently flown to the United States.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump said the United States was “in charge” of Venezuela following the operation, without elaborating. He also warned that further military action remained possible if remaining members of the Venezuelan government failed to cooperate with U.S. efforts to curb drug trafficking and restructure the country’s oil industry in order to get the country “fixed”.
Trump said his administration would seek to work with officials still in power rather than push immediately for elections in the short term.
Following Maduro’s removal, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assumed the role of interim leader with the backing of Venezuela’s top court, according to state media. On Sunday, she convened her first cabinet meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace alongside Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. Rodriguez has offered cooperation with the United States, calling for dialogue and “shared development”.
Cuba said 32 of its citizens, all members of its armed forces and intelligence services, were killed during the raid and announced two days of national mourning. Cuba has been involved in providing security support to President Maduro since he assumed power.
