New York [US], January 5 (ANI): Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are scheduled to appear before a federal judge on Monday (local time), after US authorities confirmed that the case will be heard in the Southern District of New York, CBS News reported.
A spokesperson said Maduro and Flores are set to appear before the federal court at 12 pm on Monday. This will mark their first court appearance following a ‘large-scale strike against Venezuela’ carried out by Washington on Saturday, during which the Venezuelan leader and his wife were captured and flown out of the country.
Maduro and Flores were taken into custody in Caracas and transferred out of Venezuela as part of a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement. They arrived in New York on Saturday afternoon, several hours after being removed from their residence in Caracas, taken to the USS Iwo Jima warship, and later flown to the United States to face criminal charges.
Maduro arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Centre, a federal prison in Brooklyn, at around 8:52 pm Eastern Time on Saturday. As of Saturday night, he was not expected to be held in a separate wing, while details regarding Flores’ detention status were not immediately known, CBS News reported.
In an indictment filed in the Southern District of New York against Maduro, along with members of his family and cabinet, the United States has accused the South American leader of conspiring to engage in alleged narco-terrorism and to import cocaine.
According to the indictment unsealed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, Maduro is also charged with possessing and conspiring to possess machine guns and other destructive weapons.
(ANI)