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Nicolás Maduro appears today in federal court in New York: How the dictator arrived in court

Maduro, 63, and his wife, Cilia Flores, 69, were flown by helicopter to midtown Manhattan on Monday morning and escorted under heavy security to the federal courthouse, according to live U.S. media broadcasts.

Maduro and his wife arrive at the New York court amid tight security measures.

Maduro and his wife arrive at the New York court amid tight security measures.Kyle Mazza/CNP/INSTARimages / Cordon Press

Diane Hernández
Published by
Diane Hernández

The ousted Venezuelan ex-dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, will appear in a federal court in Lower Manhattan at noon on Monday, where they will face serious charges of narco-trafficking, narco-terrorism and criminal conspiracy, just two days after being captured in Caracas during a large-scale U.S. military operation.

Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, were flown by helicopter to downtown Manhattan on Monday morning and escorted under heavy security to the federal courthouse, live U.S. media broadcasts showed.

Both were being held at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, a short distance from the courthouse.

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Federal charges of the highest severity

According to a declassified indictment in the Southern District of New York, Maduro faces four main charges:

  • Narcoterrorism conspiracy
  • Conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States
  • Possession of machine guns and destructive devices
  • Conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices

The indictment also includes Cilia Flores, a son of the couple and three other people. The charges against Maduro are essentially the same as those brought in a 2020 indictment, during the first presidency of Donald Trump, though the new indictment, filed under seal shortly before Christmas and unsealed Saturday, broadens the criminal scope by formally including his wife.

Monday's arraignment is expected to be brief, limited to arraignment. Judicial sources anticipate that both will plead not guilty and that the judge will order their preventive detention, which could keep them incarcerated for more than a year before a jury evaluates the evidence.

A capture that shakes the international chessboard

Maduro's arrest on Saturday came after months of pressure and preparations by the Trump administration, which presented the raid in Caracas as a necessary action to dismantle a criminal network with transnational reach.

While the dictator's deputy in Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez publicly offered to collaborate with the United States on an eventual "cooperation agenda," President Donald Trump hardened the tone on Sunday night, claiming that his government was "in charge" of Venezuela.

Oil, sanctions and naval blockade

Meanwhile, at least 16 tankers affected by U.S. sanctions would have tried to evade a naval blockade imposed on Venezuelan energy exports by concealing their location or turning off their tracking systems, according to maritime tracking data.

Trump also made clear his interest in opening up Venezuela's vast oil reserves to U.S. companies, boosting shares of major U.S. oil companies in the first trading session after Maduro's ouster.

However, analysts warn that a direct intervention in the Venezuelan oil industry could be complex, costly and politically explosive.

Highest expectations in New York

Since the early hours of the morning of Monday, Jan. 5, dozens of journalists and citizens gathered in front of the federal courthouse in Manhattan. The line stretched for several blocks as the building opened its doors.

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A video released Saturday by an official White House account showed Maduro smiling as he was escorted by federal agents at a DEA office in New York, images that contrast with the gravity of the charges he now faces and mark a historic turning point in the Venezuelan crisis.

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