By RismadarVoice Reporters
January 3, 2026
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, will face trial in the United States on charges including narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking – U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed on Saturday.
Bondi announced on X that indictments had been lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, stating that the couple would be prosecuted in American courts.
“They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” Bondi said.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, the charges include narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, and weapons-related offences involving machineguns.
U.S. officials confirmed that the indictment against President Maduro was originally filed in 2020, while the indictment against Flores had not previously been made public.
The announcement followed the capture of the Venezuelan leader and his wife by U.S. military forces, in an operation conducted in coordination with American law enforcement agencies.
Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago residence, U.S. President Donald Trump described the operation as a major success.
“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured, flown out of the country,” Trump said.
Trump told newsmen in a phone interview that the operation was conducted jointly with U.S. law enforcement and described it as “a brilliant operation.”
The Trump administration had earlier doubled a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, accusing him of leading the alleged “Cartel of the Suns” drug trafficking organization.
The operation reportedly coincided with U.S. military strikes in Caracas, with multiple reports suggesting that elite U.S. forces carried out the capture amid heightened military activity in the capital.
Reacting to the development, U.S. Senator, Marco Rubio said American military action in Venezuela had concluded.
“No further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody,” Rubio stated.
Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau described the arrest as a turning point for Venezuela.
“The tyrant is gone. He will now finally face justice for his crimes,” Landau wrote on X, calling the moment a “new dawn” for the country.
The operation comes just two days after Venezuela offered renewed cooperation with the United States on combating drug trafficking and illegal migration, a development now overshadowed by the unfolding legal and diplomatic fallout.
As of the time of filing this report, Venezuelan authorities have not issued an official response to the U.S. announcement.
