Deposed Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro appeared in handcuffs Monday at a U.S. courtroom in Manhattan to face federal charges, just two days after U.S. special forces captured him in a stunning predawn raid at his palace in Caracas.
Maduro arrived at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan at approximately 8 a.m., transported by helicopter from the Brooklyn detention facility where he has been held since Saturday evening. His wife, Cilia Flores, is also expected to appear in court Monday.
The former Venezuelan leader will appear before U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein at noon on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons offenses tied to machine guns and destructive devices. U.S. forces removed him from power in Operation Absolute Resolve.
Heavy security surrounded the Manhattan courthouse as Maduro arrived. After departing the helicopter, Maduro was loaded into an armored truck before being transported to the courthouse.
The hearing is a procedural appearance where Maduro will enter a plea to the charges. Following the court appearance, Maduro and Flores are to remain at the Metropolitan Detention Center as they await trial, which could be a a year away.
For years, Maduro enriched himself and political elites by partnering with vicious gangs and drug cartels to smuggle deadly drugs to the United States, including the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, the Justice Department said.
U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife early Saturday morning during a daring military operation that involved approximately 150 aircraft launching from 20 bases. The mission included F-35 and F-22 fighter jets as well as B-1 bombers and lasted approximately two hours and 20 minutes, according to Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
President Donald Trump gave the green light for the operation at 11:46 p.m. Friday after weather conditions cleared enough to allow the mission to proceed. U.S. helicopters touched down at Maduro’s compound in Caracas at 2:01 a.m. Saturday, with the Venezuelan president and his wife taken into U.S. custody within 30 minutes.
No U.S. forces were harmed in the operation. 40 of Maduro’s security team are suspected to have been killed, 32 of which were foreign Cuban operatives sent by the country’s communist government to protect Maduro from his own people.
Trump said Sunday night aboard Air Force One that the United States is “in charge” of Venezuela, but the administration has since backtracked and said the U.S. was looking to work with an interim government.
“We’re dealing with the people who just got sworn in. Don’t ask me who’s in charge because I’ll give you an answer and it’ll be very controversial,” Trump told reporters.
The president warned Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who was named acting president by Venezuela’s Supreme Court, to cooperate or face consequences.
“If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump said.
Rodríguez extended an invitation to the U.S. government to work together on a cooperation agenda but asserted that “Venezuela has the right to peace, development, sovereignty, and a future.”
“We extend an invitation to the U.S. government to work together on a cooperation agenda, oriented toward shared development, within the framework of international law, and to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” Rodríguez said in a statement.
A senior White House official told NBC News that Maduro’s “overt arrogance,” including his rejection of multiple offers to surrender and regular public dancing, helped persuade some within the president’s team that Maduro was mocking them and trying to call Trump’s bluff.
Cuban state media admitted the vast majority of those killed in the U.S. attack were security forces from their country.
“The 32 died after fierce resistance, either in direct combat against the attackers or as a result of the bombings of the facilities,” Cuba said in a statement.
Trump mentioned Cuba’s casualties while speaking with reporters Sunday night.
“You know, a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday,” Trump said. “There was a lot of death on the other side. No death on our side. But a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday trying to protect him.”
Congressional leaders are scheduled to receive a classified briefing Monday evening about the operation to capture Maduro. The briefing will include the “Gang of Eight” as well as top lawmakers on the House and Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Attorney General Pam Bondi are all expected to attend the briefing.