Four Charges Filed Against Venezuelan President After Trump Announces Military Operation

According to the unsealed indictment, the charges against Maduro encompass several serious federal offenses, including:

Narco‑terrorism conspiracy,
Cocaine importation conspiracy,
Possession of machineguns and destructive devices, and
Conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices against the United States.
Bondi framed the operation and the subsequent legal process as a law enforcement and national security action. She described the mission — known internally as Operation Absolute Resolve — as “incredible and highly successful,” and praised the U.S. military for executing the capture with precision.

She said that Maduro and his wife will now face “the full wrath of American justice on American soil” and underscored the severity of the charges against them.

The statement emphasized national security concerns, portraying Maduro as an alleged narco‑trafficker whose operations posed a threat to the United States.

Shortly after the indictment was released, video and photographic footage showed Maduro and Flores in U.S. custody aboard a military transport as they were flown to New York. In a federal court appearance on January 5, both appeared before a judge in the Southern District of New York.

Maduro pleaded not guilty to all charges and declared himself a “prisoner of war,” asserting that the U.S. action was improper and that he remained the legitimate leader of Venezuela. Flores, similarly, pleaded not guilty.

The courtroom proceedings were brief, procedural, and tightly controlled under high security due to the extraordinary nature of the case.

The indictment alleges that Maduro and his co‑defendants orchestrated decades of criminal activity involving cocaine trafficking and the possession of illegal weapons — accusations rooted in longstanding U.S. indictments that had been unsealed after his arrest.

Prosecutors have said that Maduro used his official authority to protect and promote illegal drug distribution networks that moved tons of cocaine toward the United States, allegedly partnering with violent drug cartels and criminal organizations.

Despite the charges and pleas, Maduro and Flores remain presumed innocent until proven guilty in a U.S. court of law. Members of their legal defense team have signaled intentions to contest both the validity of the capture and the characterizations in the indictment, raising questions about legal jurisdiction, diplomatic immunity, and international norms.

Maduro’s defense attorneys have stated that the seizure was not a lawful arrest under international law — citing his status as a head of state — and have indicated plans for robust legal challenges ahead.

Back in Venezuela, the announcement of Maduro’s capture and indictment precipitated political turmoil. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assumed the nation’s leadership in his absence, condemning the operation as a “kidnapping” and demanding immediate proof that Maduro and Flores were alive and unharmed.

Rodríguez and other Venezuelan officials have rejected the U.S. characterization of the events, framing them as an act of aggression and a violation of their country’s sovereignty.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López called the U.S. action the “worst aggression Venezuela had ever faced” and urged unity among Venezuelans in defense of national dignity.

International responses to the events have been swift and divisive. Some U.S. allies expressed cautious support for holding leaders accountable for alleged criminal conduct, while others — including China and the United Nations Human Rights Office — condemned the military action as a breach of international law and a dangerous precedent for unilateral intervention.

The UN Human Rights Office said the operation undermines principles fundamental to the United Nations Charter, emphasizing that sovereignty and peaceful resolution of disputes are core pillars of international stability.

While the American government has framed the operation as a necessary step in combating international crime and drug trafficking, legal and diplomatic experts note that it raises profound questions about how criminal justice objectives intersect with international law and state sovereignty.

Critics argue that bringing a sitting president into a foreign courtroom via military means could set a precedent with far‑reaching implications for global diplomacy and the enforcement of transnational criminal charges.

Supporters counter that longstanding indictments and the alleged impact of narcotrafficking justify the action and its legal framing as law enforcement, not war.

In the United States, lawmakers and legal scholars are mulling the ramifications of the episode for constitutional powers, war powers oversight, and the scope of executive authority in foreign interventions, especially when military force is directly used to apprehend individuals accused of federal crimes.

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