Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife are scheduled to appear in a New York court on Monday on drug trafficking charges, two days after they were dramatically detained by U.S. forces in their home country.
President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been detained since being removed from Venezuela following the US attack on Venezuela on orders from US President Donald Trump.
Jay Clayton, the Manhattan federal prosecutor who is prosecuting the couple, said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Monday morning, “From where I’m sitting, myself and everyone else are completely satisfied with the prosecution.”
Maduro faces federal charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of a machine gun and a destructive device, and conspiracy to possess a machine gun and a destructive device. Flores is charged with cocaine conspiracy and weapons counts.
Detained Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrives at a downtown Manhattan helipad on his way to the Daniel Patrick Manhattan U.S. Courthouse for his first appearance on federal charges including narco-terrorism, conspiracy, drug trafficking and money laundering, January 5, 2026 in New York City, USA.
Eduardo Muñoz | Reuters
Maduro, who the indictment describes as Venezuela’s “illegitimate ruler” due to a rigged election, is accused of collaborating with co-conspirators, drug traffickers and narco-terrorist organizations to import large amounts of cocaine into the United States.
Mr. Maduro is scheduled to appear before Judge Alvin Hellerstein in U.S. District Court in Manhattan at noon ET. Mr. Flores will also appear in the same courtroom.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and President Cilia Flores hold hands and pose for a photo after the swearing-in ceremony at the Congress Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 10, 2025.
Jesus Vargas | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The 25-page indictment alleges that “Defendant Nicolás Maduro Moros currently sits at the head of a corrupt and illegitimate government that has used government power for decades to protect and facilitate illegal activities, including drug trafficking.”
“This chain of drug-based corruption lines the pockets of Venezuelan government officials and their families, while also benefiting violent narco-terrorists who operate with impunity on Venezuelan soil and help produce, protect, and transport large amounts of cocaine to the United States,” the indictment states.
The overt acts detailed in the indictment include a meeting Ms. Flores attended around 2007 in which she allegedly “accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to facilitate a meeting between a major drug trafficker and Venezuela’s National Drug Enforcement Agency Director Nestor Reverol Torres.”
“The drug traffickers then arranged to pay monthly bribes to Mr. Levelol-Torres, a portion of which were paid to Mr. Flores de Maduro, in addition to paying approximately $100,000 for each flight to ensure the safe operation of the flights transporting the cocaine,” the indictment alleges.
“Leverol Torres was charged with drug crimes in the Eastern District of New York and remains a fugitive.”
No other defendants charged in the same indictment are in U.S. custody.
These defendants are Maduro’s son, Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra. Diosdado Cabello London. Ramon Rodríguez Chacin. and Hector Rustenford Guerrero Flores.
Cabello is Venezuela’s interior minister, a position previously held by Rodriguez.
Mr. Guerrero was identified as the leader of the Venezuelan gang Torren de Aragua.
The Trump administration has questioned Maduro’s concerns at home after Trump recently pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted in 2024 of colluding with drug traffickers and using his government position to help funnel hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States.
This is developing news. Please check the latest information.
