“Maduro and Wife Flown to New York Following US Military Operation”
US President Donald Trump says Venezuelan leader and first lady face drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges in the Southern District of New York.
New York, Dec 04 : A plane carrying Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York on Saturday (local time), following their capture in Caracas during a large-scale US military operation, according to official statements.
Maduro and Flores were detained in the Venezuelan capital and flown out of the country as part of a joint operation involving US intelligence agencies and law enforcement authorities.
US President Donald Trump said the Venezuelan leader and his wife have been indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges related to alleged drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies. He stated that the arrests were carried out during a night-time military operation.
“No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved yesterday,” Trump said while addressing a press conference in Florida. “In the dead of night, our military, working with US law enforcement, rendered Venezuelan military capacities powerless and successfully captured Maduro along with his wife, Cilia Flores.”
Trump added that both Maduro and Flores would “face the full might of American justice” and stand trial on US soil. Authorities are yet to decide whether the trial will be held in New York or Florida, he said.
Calling Maduro an “illegitimate dictator,” Trump alleged that the Venezuelan leader was at the centre of a criminal network involved in trafficking large quantities of illicit drugs into the United States.
The developments mark a dramatic escalation in US-Venezuela relations and have triggered heightened security concerns across the region.
