Images broadcast on television channels showed the disembarkation of the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, at Stewart International Airport, in the Hudson Valley, about 95 kilometers from New York City, in the United States (USA).
The aircraft that took the Latin American leader and his wife, Cília Flores, landed at around 6:30 pm (Brasília time) this Saturday (3), more than 16 hours after the couple’s capture, in Caracas, by North American special forces in a military invasion unprecedented in Venezuelan territory.
Upon disembarking, Maduro appeared surrounded by dozens of federal agents from the FBI and the DEA, the North American country’s drug enforcement agency. Wearing a sweatshirt and hood, he appeared to have handcuffs on his feet and hands, and had difficulty descending the aircraft stairs and walking along the runway to an airport hangar.
According to the US press, Maduro and his wife, who will be prosecuted for international drug trafficking, an accusation with no public presentation of evidence by the US government, will now be transported by helicopter to Manhattan, at the headquarters of the DEA. From there, they are taken to prisons, where they will face charges.
Earlier, at press conferencethe President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated, in his first official demonstration after the military invasion of Venezuela and capture of Maduro, that the American government itself will manage the Latin American country, from now on, until a transition of power can be made.
The military operation involved around 150 aircraft and was planned for monthsUS authorities said.
Trump was unable to specify how long he will need to directly control the South American country, which has a border of more than 2 thousand kilometers (km) with Brazil. Despite this, he indicated a possible dialogue with the vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, from the political group of the now deposed and kidnapped president, Nicolás Maduro, about a possible interim government for the country. She, however, rejected any subordination to the US governmentin your first manifestation.
