Trump says Maduro, wife heading to New York to face DOJ charges

Speaking to Fox News on Saturday after the US strike on Venezuela in which President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were captured, President Donald Trump said the pair were heading to New York. Maduro was indicted in the Southern District of New York on narco-trafficking charges in 2020 and the indicment has been released. 

"They'll be heading to New York," Trump said, "you know they were indicted in New York." The two traveling aboard the USS Iwo Jima after being taken aboard helicopter to that ship. The US had previously sent an armada to surround the South American nation.
 

Maduro was indicted in 2020 on narco-trafficking charges and will be facing those charges in New York after a strike was carried out in Caracas and he and his first lady were apprehended. That indictment was updated for 2025 and reads that "For over 25 years, leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States."

It states that "NICOLAS MADURO MOROS, the defendant, is at the forefront of that corruption and has partnered with his co-conspirators to use his illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States. Since his early days in Venezuelan government, MADURO MOROS has tarnished every public office he has held. As a member of Venezuela's National Assembly, MADURO MOROS moved loads of cocaine under the protection of Venezuelan law enforcement.

"As Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs, MADURO MOROS provided Venezuelan diplomatic passports to drug traffickers and facilitated diplomatic cover for planes used by money launderers to repatriate drug proceeds from Mexico to Venezuela. As Venezuela's President and now-de facto ruler, MADURO MOROS allows cocaine-fueled corruption to flourish for his own benefit, for the benefit of members of his ruling regime, and for the benefit of his family members."

Democrats came out opposing the move by the Trump administration on Saturday while Republicans defended the move and agreed with the narco-terrorism concerns about the Venezuelan leader. Russia, an ally of Venezuela, opposed the action and a Chinese delegation was in Venezuela on Saturday to meet with Maduro, though the leader was apprehended.