U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Saturday that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York on multiple federal charges.
The charges include allegations of narco-terrorism and weapons-related offenses, marking a significant escalation in U.S. legal action against the Venezuelan leadership.
The announcement followed a predawn military operation on Jan. 3, 2026, which President Donald Trump described as a "large-scale strike" that successfully removed the couple from Venezuela.
"Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York," Bondi wrote in a statement on the social media platform X.
The unsealed indictment accuses Nicolás Maduro of narco-terrorism and cocaine importation conspiracies, alleging he worked for decades with international drug cartels to traffic large quantities of cocaine into the United States.
He is also accused of possessing machine guns and destructive devices to protect drug trafficking operations, and of conspiring to use such weapons against U.S. interests.
The Attorney General confirmed that Maduro and Flores were extracted by U.S. military forces, reportedly the elite Delta Forc and are currently being transported to New York to face prosecution.
Bondi praised the military and the President for the operation, stating, "On behalf of the entire U.S. DOJ, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People."
The indictment of a sitting head of state and his subsequent capture via military force has sent shockwaves through the international community.
Russia and China have condemned the move as an "act of armed aggression" and a violation of international law.
United Nations officials have expressed concern that the operation sets a "dangerous precedent" for national sovereignty.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio countered these criticisms, asserting that Maduro is not a legitimate president but rather "the head of the Cartel de Los Soles, a narco-terror organization."
The Justice Department expects the couple to be arraigned in a Manhattan federal court in the coming days.
