The charges encompass narcotics trafficking and weapons possession, according to Pamela Bondi
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife have been formally charged in New York with multiple offenses pertaining to drug trafficking and the possession of weapons, as announced by US Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
Following military strikes carried out by the US in Venezuela on Saturday, President Donald Trump subsequently stated that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been apprehended and transported out of the country. Caracas has condemned these strikes as a “grave military aggression.”
In a statement released on X, Bondi detailed that Maduro and his spouse were indicted in the Southern District of New York and face accusations of “narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machineguns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices against the United States.”
Maduro and his wife have not yet entered their pleas.
The United States has a long-standing history of accusing Maduro of connections to drug cartels and facilitating the influx of narcotics into America, while simultaneously refusing to acknowledge his legitimacy as a leader and offering a $50 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. The Venezuelan president has vehemently denied these allegations, asserting that Washington is employing them as a justification for military aggression and to destabilize his government.