The Trump administration said Sunday that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are being held in federal custody in New York after what U.S. officials described as a large-scale military operation in Caracas that ended with the couple’s capture and removal from Venezuela.
Maduro was taken Saturday night to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, a troubled federal jail that has housed high-profile defendants and has been criticized for violence, staffing problems and deteriorating conditions, according to the Associated Press. Crowds of Venezuelan expatriates gathered outside the facility as law enforcement vehicles arrived.
A spokesperson for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York confirmed that Maduro and Flores are scheduled to make their first court appearance on Monday at noon in Manhattan federal court. The couple is expected to face criminal charges tied to allegations of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.
The operation, called “Operation Absolute Resolve,” according to U.S. officials, followed months of preparation involving the Pentagon and intelligence agencies, including rehearsals at a mock-up of Maduro’s safe house and real-time intelligence from a CIA source close to him. Reuters said more than 150 aircraft were involved and that Maduro and Flores surrendered after U.S. forces entered the compound.
Trump said Maduro was seized at a heavily fortified location with steel doors and a protected “safe space,” but did not reach it before being captured. ABC also reported that some lawmakers questioned the legal basis for the action without a congressional authorization for the use of military force, while others praised the move.
The administration has framed the mission as an arrest to bring Maduro to face U.S. criminal charges. A superseding indictment unsealed Saturday in New York accuses Maduro of narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy, among other weapons-related allegations.
Maduro’s supporters and Venezuela’s government have denounced the operation as a violation of the country’s sovereignty. ABC reported that Venezuelan authorities declared a “state of External Disturbance” and ordered national defense plans put into effect following the strikes.
Maduro and Flores are expected to remain in federal custody pending court proceedings. The Bureau of Prisons has not publicly detailed their housing conditions at MDC Brooklyn, where high-security defendants are typically held under tight restrictions.
