Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Faces U.S. Extradition on Grave Narco-Terrorism Charges

According to sources speaking with ABC News, former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is being transported to New York City, where he has been facing charges related to narco-terrorism since 2020.

President Trump announced that Maduro and his wife had been apprehended and flown out of their country, but did not specify their destination within the United States.

In 2020, the Southern District of New York charged Maduro with a range of offenses including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons violations. These charges stem from allegations of his collaboration with the Colombian rebel group FARC to inundate the United States with cocaine.

At the time the charges were filed, then-U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman stated, “As alleged, Maduro and the other defendants expressly intended to flood the United States with cocaine in order to undermine the health and wellbeing of our nation. Maduro very deliberately deployed cocaine as a weapon.”

For real-time updates on the situation in Venezuela, click here.

Current U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi addressed the allegations against Maduro on her social media platforms, sharing her perspective on the situation.

“Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States. They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” she said.

While sources did not specify where Maduro will be held, defendants awaiting trial in federal court in Manhattan are customarily held at MDC-Brooklyn.

ABC News contributed to this report.

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