The U.S. accuses Maduro and his wife of ordering kidnappings, beatings and murders, among other charges | Fortune

"Maduro is charged alongside his wife, his son and three others. Maduro is indicted on four counts: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. Maduro is facing the same charges as in an earlier indictment brought against him in Manhattan federal court in 2020, during the first Trump presidency."

"It was not immediately clear when Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would make their first appearance at the courthouse in Manhattan. A video posted Saturday night on social media by a White House account showed Maduro, smiling, as he was escorted through a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office in New York by two federal agents grasping his arms. He was expected to be detained while awaiting trial at a federal jail in Brooklyn."

"A newly unsealed U.S. Justice Department indictment accuses captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of running a "corrupt, illegitimate government" fueled by an extensive drug-trafficking operation that flooded the U.S. with thousands of tons of cocaine. The arrest of Maduro and his wife in a stunning military operation early Saturday in Venezuela sets the stage for a major test for U.S. prosecutors as they seek to secure a conviction in a Manhattan courtroom."

The Justice Department unsealed an indictment charging Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, his son and three others with narco-terrorism, cocaine importation and weapons offenses. The indictment alleges a corrupt, illegitimate government that used an extensive drug-trafficking operation to flood the United States with massive quantities of cocaine and that security forces and armed groups protected the trafficking. The new indictment mirrors charges filed in 2020 and adds Flores as a defendant; it was filed under seal in the Southern District of New York just before Christmas. Maduro was captured in a Venezuelan military operation and transported to U.S. custody, expected to be detained in Brooklyn awaiting trial.

Read at Fortune