Maduro, wife indicted in New York court for narco-terrorism, drugs, weapons offences

Last Updated on Saturday, 3 January 2026, 13:50 by Writer

United States (US) Attorney General Pam Bondi says that Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York.

Maduro, she says, has been charged with “narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States”.

“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Bondi adds but does not say what his wife has been charged with.

“A huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers,” Ms Bondi was quoted by the BBC as saying.

Earlier on Saturday, US President Donald Trump said Mr Maduro and his wife were “captured” and taken out of the country, amid a pre-dawn military operation.

Several military bases in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, and elsewhere, were bombed by the US in a 30-minute air bombardment.

Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez hours later called on the US President to provide “proof of life”.

Mr Maduro was deposed six months after the US began its biggest military mobilisation in the Caribbean, striking at numerous boats that the US claimed was ferrying narcotics to its shores and poisoning Americans.