Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who were captured on Saturday by US forces after Donald Trump greenlit the operation, arrived at the Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York on Saturday night local time.
Videos posted on social media showed a handcuffed Maduro stepping out of the plane before being escorted to a hangar by dozens of security personnel.
Maduro and his wife, who have been indicted on several charges, including alleged “drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies”, will be flown from the hanger on a helicopter to a New York jail cell.
Trump said that Maduro and his wife “will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil” for their alleged role in drug trafficking.
The Venezuelan President and his wife are currently being taken to New York, with authorities to decide later whether the trial will be held in New York or Florida.
What are the charges against Maduro and his wife?
Shortly after the Venezuelan President’s capture by the US, which was decried by the international community, US Attorney Pam Bondi heaped praise on Trump for “having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People” and listed on the charges against Maduro and his wife.
“Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States,” Bondi wrote in a post on X.
The detailed indictment alleges that starting as early as 1999, Maduro and his co-defendants collaborated with international drug trafficking organizations, including Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and the Zetas, Colombian narco-terrorist groups, and the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, to ship illicit drugs into the US.
It goes on to allege that Venezuela’s political elite, including Maduro and his wife, enriched themselves through said trafficking operations, while shielding the drug traffickers and providing logistical support.
(This is a developing story. Check back for updates)
