Venezuela’s Maduro arrives at federal courthouse in New York

SCMP | Jan. 5, 2026, 8:04 a.m. | Original

Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are seen in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavily armed US agents as they make their way into an armoured car en route to a federal courthouse in Manhattan on Monday. Photo: XNY/Star Max/GC Images

President Nicolas Maduro was due to be arraigned in a New York court on Monday on charges of narcoterrorism and possession of illegal weapons, after being forcibly taken into US custody following a strike on his Caracas compound 60 hours earlier.

The indictment, which was filed in secret on December 25, and unveiled on Saturday, accuses Maduro of heading a “corrupt, illegitimate government” powered by an extensive drug-trafficking network that flooded the US with thousands of tons of cocaine.

In addition to Maduro, his wife, Cilia Flores, their son and three others have also been indicted.

The charges carry a possible maximum sentence of life in prison under US law.

Maduro was brought to the Manhattan courthouse by helicopter from a detention facility in Brooklyn.

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How Venezuelans at home and abroad have responded to Maduro’s abduction

How Venezuelans at home and abroad have responded to Maduro’s abduction

The indictment, filed in the US Southern District of New York, contains four counts and revives an indictment against Maduro filed in March 2020, with some changes, including the addition of Flores as a defendant.

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