NEW YORK: Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has been extradited to New York, US, where he will face trial in federal court on narco-terrorism charges. Marco was captured by US Delta Force commandos. Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base on Saturday. From there, they were flown by helicopter to a helipad in Manhattan, close to federal offices and courts. They were taken under tight security. They may first have to go to the Drug Enforcement Agency for processing.
Maduro will then be held at the notorious Metropolitan Correctional Center, a federal prison in Brooklyn, where he will await trial. A $50 million reward was announced on Maduro. They are expected to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Monday. Earlier, when the plane landed on Saturday afternoon, FBI agents surrounded the entire plane and immediately took the Maduro couple with them.
The entire operation was carried out under the name "Operation Absolute Resolve". In the early hours of Saturday morning, Maduro was captured at the Venezuelan military base of Fuerte Tuna, where he was hiding. From there, he was taken to the US Navy ship Iwo Jima. According to officials, more than 150 aircraft were involved in the operation.
According to the US Attorney General, Maduro and his wife are charged with narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine and possession of weapons. The charges, filed in 2020, also accuse them of leading the drug gang "Cartel de los Soles". US President Donald Trump has indicated that the trial could be moved from New York to Miami.