President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, following a “large-scale strike” on Venezuela.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi has said that Maduro and Flores have now been indicted in the Southern District of New York.
Maduro was charged with drugs and weapons offenses, Bondi said, adding that they would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”
Venezuela said the US had carried out strikes on Caracas and the coastal states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira early Saturday.
Trump had repeatedly threatened Venezuela with military action in recent months as tensions with Maduro soured over what the Trump administration says are drug trafficking networks in the country. Caracas has maintained that Washington’s aim is to overthrow the Venezuelan government.
Follow this liveblog for updates.
Watch Trump’s press conference on Maduro
Trump is scheduled to speak from Mar-a-Lago about the Venezuela raid that captured Maduro. You can watch on the White House livestream below.
Trump shares details about the raid to capture Maduro
Trump said US forces stormed a “fortress” to capture Maduro, who had tried to reach a “safety space” surrounded by steel.
Speaking to Fox, Trump said “a couple of guys” and a US helicopter took fire during the operation, but he believes that no one was killed.
The president described the raid as being “very organized,” involving “highly trained soldiers.” He said the raid was planned with “pinpoint” accuracy, and revealed that the US built a model house identical to the one that was raided — a tactic similar to what the US did ahead of the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan.
New indictment shared by Bondi names Maduro, his wife, and his son
US Attorney General Pam Bondi on Saturday posted the new Maduro indictment on X. The one she shared is an expanded version of the 2020 indictment, accusing Maduro of a widespread conspiracy to traffic drugs into the United States.
It names some new defendants, however — notably Maduro’s wife Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro and son Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra.
The DOJ’s case against Maduro dates back years
Manhattan federal prosecutors indicted Muduro and other members of his government in 2020, during the first Trump administration.
That indictment carried many of the same charges cited by US Attorney General Pam Bondi on Saturday as the basis for Saturday’s arrest.
The 2020 case, which remains active, alleges narco-terrorism conspiracy and conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession and use of machine guns and destructive devices. It does not, however, mention Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, suggesting that the latest charges could be brought in a refiled or expanded indictment.
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