Nicolás Maduro, former Venezuelan dictator, 63 years old, appeared this Monday before a federal court in New York City, where he faces charges of drug trafficking, narco-terrorism, and criminal conspiracy that could result in the death penalty if he is found guilty. The New York Post reported this, citing judicial sources and official documentation.
Maduro arrived at the court under a heavy security operation, escorted by armed federal agents, after being transported by helicopter and armored vehicles from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He remains detained there along with his wife, Cilia Flores, after having been captured on Saturday during a United States military operation in Caracas.
Federal charges and possible capital punishment
According to federal legislation in the United States, a defendant who violates the Controlled Substances Act "as part of a continuing criminal enterprise" may be eligible for the death penalty. Records from the Library of Congress cited by U.S. media confirmed the information.
Although death sentences for crimes linked exclusively to drug trafficking are rare, the Maduro case is exceptionally serious because of the systematic nature of the accusations and the use of the Venezuelan state apparatus as a platform for international drug trafficking.
The charges include narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, and crimes related to the use and possession of weapons of war, including machine guns.
An indictment that is expanding
Maduro had already been charged in 2020 by a federal grand jury, but the indictment was expanded this year with new charges. His son Nicolás Maduro Guerra, known as "Nicolasito," Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, and a fugitive drug kingpin also appear in the case file, all identified as part of a transnational criminal structure.
