{"id":10104,"date":"2026-01-04T10:09:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T10:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/?p=10104"},"modified":"2026-01-04T10:09:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T10:09:26","slug":"trump-says-u-s-forces-arrest-venezuelas-maduro-and-wife-charges-include-narco-terrorism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/2026\/01\/04\/trump-says-u-s-forces-arrest-venezuelas-maduro-and-wife-charges-include-narco-terrorism\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Says U.S. Forces Arrest Venezuela\u2019s Maduro and Wife \u2014 Charges Include \u201cNarco\u2011Terrorism\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"384\" data-end=\"694\">In a dramatic and unprecedented development early Saturday, <strong data-start=\"444\" data-end=\"536\">U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores<\/strong>, in a military operation in Caracas that included airstrikes and strategic raids, President <strong data-start=\"629\" data-end=\"655\">Donald Trump announced.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"696\" data-end=\"878\">The couple has been <strong data-start=\"716\" data-end=\"742\">flown out of Venezuela<\/strong> and is now in U.S. custody, where they will face criminal charges in <strong data-start=\"813\" data-end=\"839\">New York federal court<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"920\" data-end=\"1111\">U.S. Attorney General <strong data-start=\"942\" data-end=\"978\">Pam Bondi released an indictment<\/strong> saying both Maduro and his wife have been charged in the <strong data-start=\"1036\" data-end=\"1069\">Southern District of New York<\/strong> with serious federal offences, including:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1113\" data-end=\"1348\">\n<li data-start=\"1113\" data-end=\"1148\">\n<p data-start=\"1115\" data-end=\"1148\"><strong data-start=\"1115\" data-end=\"1145\">Narco\u2011Terrorism Conspiracy<\/strong>,<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1149\" data-end=\"1188\">\n<p data-start=\"1151\" data-end=\"1188\"><strong data-start=\"1151\" data-end=\"1185\">Cocaine Importation Conspiracy<\/strong>,<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1189\" data-end=\"1247\">\n<p data-start=\"1191\" data-end=\"1247\"><strong data-start=\"1191\" data-end=\"1244\">Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices<\/strong>,<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1248\" data-end=\"1348\">\n<p data-start=\"1250\" data-end=\"1348\"><strong data-start=\"1250\" data-end=\"1309\">Conspiracy to Possess Weapons Against the United States<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"1350\" data-end=\"1599\">Bondi wrote that the indictment alleges Maduro\u2019s regime ran a \u201ccorrupt, illegitimate government\u201d that helped <strong data-start=\"1459\" data-end=\"1509\">smuggle tons of cocaine into the United States<\/strong> and collaborated with violent drug networks abroad.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1601\" data-end=\"1751\">She said the couple <strong data-start=\"1621\" data-end=\"1713\">\u201cwill soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"1753\" data-end=\"1802\"><strong data-start=\"1757\" data-end=\"1802\">Context: Long\u2011Running U.S. Investigations<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"1804\" data-end=\"2118\">The indictment reflects a long\u2011standing effort by U.S. law enforcement. Maduro was first indicted in <strong data-start=\"1905\" data-end=\"1913\">2020<\/strong> on federal drug and terror\u2011related charges, and the U.S. has in recent years increased the reward for information leading to his arrest to as much as <strong data-start=\"2064\" data-end=\"2079\">$50\u202fmillion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2120\" data-end=\"2421\">Bondi and other U.S. officials have described Maduro as deeply tied to organised criminal networks, including the so\u2011called <em data-start=\"2244\" data-end=\"2264\">Cartel of the Suns<\/em> and other gangs, and accused him of using Venezuela\u2019s government as a platform for narcotics trafficking and violence.<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"2423\" data-end=\"2464\"><strong data-start=\"2427\" data-end=\"2464\">Trump Frames Operation as Victory<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"2466\" data-end=\"2743\">President Trump hailed the operation as a major success in combating drug trafficking and criminal leadership, saying it would allow the U.S. to help stabilise Venezuela. He stated the United States would oversee the country <strong data-start=\"2691\" data-end=\"2705\">\u201cfor now.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"2745\" data-end=\"2778\"><strong data-start=\"2749\" data-end=\"2778\">Reactions and Controversy<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"2780\" data-end=\"2840\">The raid has triggered <strong data-start=\"2803\" data-end=\"2839\">widespread international concern<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"2842\" data-end=\"3190\">\n<li data-start=\"2842\" data-end=\"2911\">\n<p data-start=\"2844\" data-end=\"2911\">Venezuela\u2019s government condemned the strikes as illegal aggression.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2912\" data-end=\"3012\">\n<p data-start=\"2914\" data-end=\"3012\">Allies like China and many U.N. members criticised the U.S. for violating Venezuela\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"3013\" data-end=\"3190\">\n<p data-start=\"3015\" data-end=\"3190\">Legal experts warn that the capture raises major <strong data-start=\"3059\" data-end=\"3090\">international law questions<\/strong> about using military force to detain a sitting head of state.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3213\" data-end=\"3544\">Maduro and Flores are expected to appear in a U.S. federal courtroom in New York in the coming days. The legal process will unfold amid heated debate over the <strong data-start=\"3372\" data-end=\"3415\">legality of the U.S. military operation<\/strong>, the scope of the charges, and what comes next for Venezuela\u2019s leadership and stability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a dramatic and unprecedented development early Saturday, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a military operation in Caracas that included airstrikes and strategic raids, President Donald&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10104"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10106,"href":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10104\/revisions\/10106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}