Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are scheduled to make their first court appearance Monday in New York on narco-terrorism charges. The couple was seized Saturday from their home on a military base in a U.S. military operation and transported to the United States.
The noon hearing at a Manhattan courthouse marks the beginning of what promises to be a protracted legal battle. Maduro's lawyers are expected to challenge the legality of his arrest by asserting sovereign immunity as a head of state, though the U.S. rejects his legitimacy following his disputed 2024 reelection.
A 25-page indictment made public Saturday accuses Maduro and others of working with drug cartels to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States. The document alleges the couple ordered kidnappings, beatings and murders, including the killing of a local drug boss in Caracas, targeting those who owed drug money or undermined their trafficking operations.
The Power Behind the Throne
Cilia Flores, 69, has shaped Venezuela's political landscape for decades as a formidable operator in her own right. She rose from humble beginnings in Tinaquillo to become the first woman to lead Venezuela's National Assembly in 2006, consolidating power during a six-year period when Chávez loyalists dominated the legislature.
Christopher Sabatini, a senior fellow at Chatham House's Latin America programme, described her role: «She was a power behind the throne. But like any good power behind the throne, you really didn't see her hand that much, so no one really knew how powerful she was.»
Flores met Maduro in the early 1990s while serving as lawyer for Hugo Chávez during his failed 1992 coup attempt. Maduro, then working as a security guard, later recounted: «I met her during those years of struggle, and then, well, she caught my eye.»
The Bribery Allegations
The newly unsealed indictment accuses Flores of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in 2007 to facilitate a meeting between a large-scale drug trafficker and the director of Venezuela's National Anti-Drug Office. Both Maduro and Flores have been under U.S. sanctions for years, making it illegal for Americans to accept money from them without a Treasury Department license.
Flores has faced repeated allegations throughout her career. In 2012, labor unions accused her of installing up to 40 relatives in public administration. She defended herself: «My family came here and I am very proud that they are my family. I will defend them.»
The Nephews' Case
Fresh sanctions announced last month targeted three of Flores's nephews previously implicated in drug trafficking. Francisco Flores de Freitas and Efrain Antonio Campo Flores were arrested in Haiti in November 2015 for attempting to smuggle 800 kilograms of cocaine. They received 18-year prison sentences in December 2017.
Flores accused U.S. authorities of having «kidnapped» her nephews. The two were returned to Venezuela in 2022 under the Biden administration as part of a prisoner swap. A third nephew, Carlos Erik Malpica Flores, was also sanctioned last month.
Political Fallout and Responses
Venezuela's new interim president Delcy Rodríguez initially demanded Maduro's return but later adopted a conciliatory tone on social media, inviting collaboration with Trump and «respectful relations» with the United States.
President Donald Trump stated the U.S. would "run" Venezuela temporarily and called on Rodríguez to provide «total access» to the country or face consequences. Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, he called Colombia's President Gustavo Petro «a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he's not going to be doing it very long.»
Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified the U.S. would not govern Venezuela day-to-day beyond enforcing an existing «oil quarantine.»
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: «Nicolás Maduro and his criminal associates in Venezuela are flooding the United States with drugs that are poisoning the American people. Treasury is holding the regime and its circle of cronies and companies accountable for its continued crimes.»
Legal Precedent
If convicted, Maduro and co-defendants could face life in prison. The sovereign immunity defense has failed before: Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega unsuccessfully used the same argument after his U.S. capture in a similar military invasion in 1990.
Also charged in the indictment are Maduro's son, who remains free, Venezuela's current and former interior and justice ministers, and alleged Tren de Aragua gang leader Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, who is at large. A U.S. intelligence assessment published in April, drawing on input from 18 agencies, found no coordination between the Tren de Aragua gang and the Venezuelan government.
It remained unclear as of Sunday whether Maduro had secured a U.S. lawyer.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
