The mayor of New York, Democrat Zohran Mamdani, criticized what he considers to be “an act of war” by the Donald Trump administration against Venezuela, whose head of state was captured and taken to the United States.
At a press conference on Saturday, Zohran Mamdani said he had a “frank and direct” telephone conversation with Donald Trump, to whom he conveyed his disagreement with the “insistence on regime change” in Venezuela.
In a statement published in your page on the social networkthe mayor said he was informed about the capture of Nicolás Maduro by United States troops, as well as the “planned detention in federal custody in New York.”
Mamdani, who was elected in November and took office last Thursday (1st), recalled that “unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law”.
The “search for regime change” in Venezuela “does not only affect those abroad, but also directly impacts New Yorkers”, he pointed out, recalling that tens of thousands of Venezuelans consider New York their home.
“My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker,” Mamdani highlighted, promising that he will “continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance.”
Indictment
The United States’ indictment against Nicolás Maduro will be tried in the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York, where prosecutors from the Public Ministry had already filed a case in 2020, accusing the Venezuelan leader of narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine and automatic weapons crimes.
The accusation is based on an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which identifies Maduro as the leader of the Los Soles Cartel, a network linked to high-ranking Venezuelan military leaders who sought to get rich using “cocaine as a weapon against the United States”.
Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cília Fortes, have been in custody in a federal prison in Brooklyn, New York, since yesterday, after having been captured in CaracasVenezuelan capital.
After land at the Air Base from the Stewart National Guard, a military airport located in northern New York state, the Venezuelan head of state got off the Boeing 757 military plane accompanied by an extensive security operation.
Video image of Nicolás Maduro, published on the White House website – @RapidResponse47/DEA headquarters in Manhattan
Dozens of FBI (federal investigation police) and DEA agents were waiting for Maduro, in temperatures of minus two degrees Celsius.
Maduro was then escorted to a federal facility linked to the DEA, where he was identified, and transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center.
The United States presidency released images of the detention and transfer, showing Maduro walking down a corridor with a blue carpet and the inscription DEA NYD – New York District Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Venezuelan leader is expected to appear before a federal judge in Manhattan in the coming days.
Understand
The United States launched on Saturday (3) “a large-scale attack against Venezuela”, which captured Maduro and his wife, and announced that will govern the country until the conclusion a transition of power.
However, the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela handed over the interim presidency to the executive vice presidentDelcy Rodriguez, “in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the integral defense of the nation”.
It is not yet known when she will take office, but Delcy Rodriguez, who will be the first woman in the country’s history to lead the executive, has already demanded “the immediate release” of Nicolás Maduro, “the only president of Venezuela”, and condemned the United States military operation.
The international community has been divided between condemnation of the United States’ actions and jubilation over Maduro’s fall.
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