US announces terrorism, drug charges against Venezuelan President, wife

The United States on Saturday announced terrorism and drugs charges against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

This comes a few hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, will face criminal charges after an indictment in New York.

Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple will “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts”.

She wrote on X: “Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York.

“Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.

“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.

“On behalf of the entire U.S. DOJ, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers.”

Trump: US captures Venezuelan President, flown out after strikes

Maduro was indicted in 2020 in New York, but it was not previously known that his wife was also indicted.

Venezuela on Saturday demanded an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the U.S. attacks on the country.

“Faced with the criminal aggression committed by the US government against our homeland, we have requested an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council, which is responsible for upholding international law,” Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil wrote on Telegram.

The U.S. military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September.

As of Friday, January 2, 2025, the number of known boat strikes is 35 and the number of people killed is at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.

They followed a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America, including the arrival in November of the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, which added thousands more troops to what was already the largest military presence in the region in generations.

Trump has justified the boat strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the United States to combat drug trafficking.

Maduro also said in a pretaped interview aired on Thursday that the U.S. wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the pressure campaign.

The Star