Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is appeared in a New York court on Monday, two days after he was abducted by US special forces in a military operation in Caracas.
The US military arrested Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Saturday and brought them to New York, where they face multiple federal charges, including drugs and weapons charges.
Maduro appeared before a federal judge. The appearance was in the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in the Southern District of New York. Maduro appeared before US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein.
A court spokesperson told NBC News that Flores, who is also listed as a defendant in a US indictment unsealed on Saturday, will also appear in court on Monday as well.
Maduro faces four counts:
- Count 1, narcoterrorism conspiracy: US prosecutors say Maduro and his coconspirators knowingly provided something of financial value to US-designated “foreign terrorist organizations” and their members. The indictment lists these organisations as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a leftist rebel group that signed a peace deal in 2016 but has dissidents who refused to lay down their arms and are still involved in the drug trade; Segunda Marquetalia, the largest dissident FARC group; National Liberation Army, another leftist Colombian rebel group; Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel; Los Zetas/Cartel del Noreste, another Mexican drug cartel; and Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang.
- Count 2, cocaine importation conspiracy: It accuses Maduro and his codefendants of conspiring to manufacture, distribute and import cocaine into the US.
- Count 3, possession of machineguns and destructive devices: The indictment accuses the defendants of possessing, carrying and using machineguns in relation to the above drug‑trafficking counts.
- Count 4, conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices: It further accuses the defendants of conspiring to use, carry and possess those weapons in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Credit: cnn.com
