Maduro to face US court, Venezuela govt softens stance
As Venezuela’s ousted leader Nicolas Maduro appears in a New York court to face drug charges, the United Nations is set to debate the legality of US President Donald Trump’s extraordinary operation to capture him.
US Special Forces raided Caracas with helicopters over the weekend to break Maduro’s security cordon and capture him at the door of a secure room.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who was also captured, were taken by armed guards from a detention center in Brooklyn to a helicopter shortly after 7 a.m. Monday, which took them to Manhattan federal court where they face a noon hearing.
Maduro is accused of running a cocaine trafficking network that partnered with violent groups such as Mexico’s Sinaloa and Zetas cartels, Colombia’s FARC rebels and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang.
Maduro, 63, has long denied the allegations, saying they are a mask for imperialist plans against Venezuelan oil.
The Maduros were transferred to the Manhattan courthouse early Monday from the Brooklyn jail where they were detained.
As a criminal defendant in the US legal system, Maduro will have the same rights as anyone else accused of a crime, including the right to be tried by a jury of ordinary New Yorkers.
Maduro’s lawyers are expected to challenge the legality of his arrest, arguing that as a sovereign head of state he is immune from investigation.
Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega unsuccessfully tried the same defense after the United States caught him in a similar military invasion in 1990.
But the US does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela – especially after a hotly contested re-election in 2024.
Top officials of Maduro’s 13-year-old government remain in charge of the South American country of 30 million, first defiant and then turning to possible cooperation with the Trump administration.
After initially denouncing Maduro’s capture as a colonial oil grab and “kidnapping,” Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, changed his tone on Sunday, saying respectful relations with the U.S. government were a priority.
“We call on the U.S. government to work together on a cooperation agenda,” Rodriguez said. he said.
“President Donald Trump, our people and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war.”
The daughter of a leftist guerrilla, Rodriguez, 56, was an ardent member of the ruling “Chavista” movement, named after the late leader Hugo Chavez, and earned Maduro’s praise as a “tiger”.
But he is also known as a pragmatist who is well connected to the private sector and believes in economic orthodoxy.
Many Venezuelans know her for the luxurious clothes she loves to wear.
Amid global consternation over Trump’s capture of a widely unpopular foreign head of state, the UN Security Council was set to debate its legality and consequences.
Russia, China and Venezuela’s allies condemned the US attack.
Cuba, Venezuela’s staunchest supporter, which has long been said to be responsible for Maduro’s security, said 32 military and intelligence personnel died during the US operation.
U.S. allies, most of whom do not recognize Maduro as president because of allegations of voter fraud, have been quieter, emphasizing the need for dialogue and adherence to the law.
“Judging by the reactions of European leaders to date, I suspect U.S. allies will be delicately evasive in the Security Council,” International Crisis Group analyst Richard Gowan said. he said.
Switzerland froze assets held by Maduro and his associates.
Trump also justified Maduro’s capture as a response to the influx of Venezuelan immigrants (a fifth of whom were left behind during the country’s economic collapse) and the nationalization of U.S. oil interests decades ago.
“We’re taking back what they stole,” Trump said Sunday, adding that U.S. oil companies would return to Venezuela.
Venezuela has the world’s largest reserves, with approximately 303 billion barrels, most of which are in the Orinoco region.
But the sector has long been in decline due to mismanagement, underinvestment and US sanctions, and last year it averaged 1.1 million barrels per day of output, a third of its 1970s heyday.
Trump’s raid created a political storm in the US, with opposition Democrats saying they had been misled.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will brief senior lawmakers later Monday.
While a handful of conservative figures criticized the Venezuela operation as a betrayal of Trump’s “America First” pledge to avoid foreign unrest, many supporters largely praised the operation as a quick and painless victory.
with AP
