Nicolas Maduro, his wife land in New York after US military capture
Jan 04, 2026
New York [US], January 4 : The plane carrying Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, has landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York on Saturday (local time) following their capture in a large-scale US military strike in Caracas, Venezuela.
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement.
Trump on Saturday (local time) said that Maduro and his wife, who were captured in Caracas during a US military operation, have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York, and will face trial.
He said that American forces, working with law enforcement agencies, captured Maduro and his wife in a night-time operation.
While addressing a press conference in Florida, Trump said, "No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved yesterday or frankly, in just a short period of time. All Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless as the men and women of our military, working with US law enforcement, successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night."
"It was dark, and it was deadly, but he was captured along with his wife, Cilia Flores, both of whom now face American justice. Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York," he said.
Trump said that Maduro and his wife "will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil" for their alleged role in drug trafficking, adding that they are currently being taken to New York, with authorities to decide later whether the trial will be held in New York or Florida.
"We will make the people of Venezuela rich, independent, and safe. The illegitimate dictator Maduro was the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States. Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil. Right now, they're on a ship that will be heading to, ultimately, New York. And then a decision will be made, I assume, between New York and Miami or Florida," he said.
