The Venezuelan dictator will face his first court hearing this afternoon after being captured in Caracas.
MADRID, Spain.- Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro will be presented this Monday before a federal court in southern New York, in Manhattan, in his first appearance before US justice since he was captured last Saturday in Caracas during a military operation carried out by the United States.
Maduro, 63, arrived at the judicial building with his wife, Cilia Floresafter being transferred from the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), where they remain in federal custody. Both were previously taken to a point on the outskirts of the city and from there transferred by helicopter to a heliport near the court. Subsequently, a convoy of several armored vehicles, under strong police escort, took them to the judicial headquarters, while the authorities kept several streets in the area closed for security reasons.
The hearing is scheduled for noon local time before Federal Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein. Images broadcast by US media showed Maduro in the custody of agents of the United States Anti-Drug Agency (DEA), responsible for his transfer and surveillance.
The court appearance will occur two days after a surprise military operation carried out by the United States in Venezuela, which included the deployment of special forces, air support and naval presence. The action culminated in the capture of Maduro and Flores in Caracas and their subsequent transfer to US territory. President Donald Trump affirmed after the operation that the United States “is in control” of the situation in Venezuela and warned the authorities who remain in the country to cooperate or face “a very high price.”
Maduro and Flores will face serious federal charges, including conspiracy for narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine and crimes related to weapons of war. The Attorney General of the United States, Pam Bondi, recalled that both were formally charged in 2020 in the Southern District of New York, the jurisdiction where the judicial process will now take place.
US authorities accuse Maduro of having headed a criminal structure linked to drug trafficking for more than two decades, known as the Cartel of the Sunsmade up of senior officials of the Venezuelan State. The accusation maintains that the Venezuelan government apparatus was used to facilitate the shipment of large shipments of cocaine to the United States, in coordination with criminal organizations and armed groups.
The judicial process that begins this Monday marks a new chapter in Washington’s legal offensive against Chavismo, by placing Maduro before a US federal court for the first time.
