Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been flown to New York after a US military operation in Caracas, where they were seized from their home
22:32, 03 Jan 2026Updated 10:33, 04 Jan 2026
Department of Defense aircraft arrives with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores at Stewart Air National Guard Base on January 3, 2026 in Newburgh, New York(Image: Getty Images)
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have arrived in New York after being captured by the US military in Caracas. The pair, accused of leading a vast cocaine trafficking operation into the US, are expected to “face the full wrath of American justice”.
Maduro and Flores reportedly landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base, just north of New York City, on Saturday afternoon (January 3) following their apprehension in the Venezuelan capital city.
The couple was reportedly seized from their residence overnight and initially transported to the United States Ship (USS) Iwo Jima before being flown to New York to face a raft of criminal charges.
Department of Defense aircraft arrives with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores at Stewart Air National Guard Base on January 3, 2026 in Newburgh, New York(Image: Getty Images)People demonstrate against US military action in Venezuela outside Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, on January 3, 2026(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
According to insiders, Maduro and Flores are reportedly expected to be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal facility in Brooklyn. A superseding indictment, filed in the Southern District of New York against Maduro, his family members, and key cabinet officials, accuses the Venezuelan leader of conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and to import cocaine into the United States.
The indictment, unsealed Saturday by Attorney General Pam Bondi, also charges Maduro with possession of and conspiracy to possess “Machineguns and Destructive Devices”, CBS reported. Bondi said: “They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”
New York US Attorney Jay Clayton, who prepared the indictment, wrote: “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.”
President Trump confirmed in a news conference that the US military carried out a large-scale strike in Caracas overnight resulting in their capture(Image: Getty Images)
He further stated: “[Maduro] 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.”
US authorities also reportedly allege Flores played a key role in her husband’s criminal activities.
The indictment claims Flores facilitated a meeting between a major drug trafficker and Nestor Reverol Torres, the head of Venezuela’s National Anti-Drug Office, and accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in 2007, according to CBS.
This image posted on US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account on January 3, 2026, shows what President Trump says is Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro onboard the USS Iwo Jima after the US military captured him on January 3, 2026(Image: US President Donald Trump’s TRUT)
The US government has reportedly pointed to criminal indictments against Maduro, the President’s Article II constitutional authority to protect American personnel, and the denial of head-of-state immunity on the grounds that Maduro is not recognised as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, as justifications to take Maduro into custody.
US courts have historically upheld jurisdiction in such cases through the Ker-Frisbie doctrine, allowing prosecution regardless of how a defendant is brought to the US, and by applying drug laws extraterritorially if the criminal activity is intended to affect the US.
However, international legal experts and organisations have criticised the operation as a violation of Venezuelan sovereignty and the UN Charter.
Some have also argued that customary international law grants absolute immunity to sitting heads of state, regardless of legitimacy or the seriousness of the alleged crimes.
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