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2d ago

U.S. Claims Capture of Venezuela’s Maduro and Cilia Flores After Caracas Strikes

Independent verification remains absent despite U.S. assertions tied to SDNY narco‑terror charges.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and wife Cilia Flores
Nicolás Maduro Guerra, son of Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro and candidate for the National Assembly for the ruling party, at a political rally, in Caracas, Venezuela May 21, 2025.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro talks to his wife Cilia Flores as they leave the National Assembly during Maduro's presidential inauguration in Caracas on January 10, 2025.
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Overview

  • President Trump said U.S. forces conducted strikes in Caracas and seized President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, claiming they were flown out of Venezuela.
  • Venezuelan authorities rejected the account and demanded proof of life, and no independently verified custody details or images have been produced.
  • Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that indictments were filed in the Southern District of New York and that the couple would face prosecution on narco‑terror and related charges.
  • Iran criticized what it called a violation of Venezuelan sovereignty, while the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá issued advisories urging Americans to avoid Venezuela.
  • Cilia Flores, a former National Assembly president and ex–attorney general, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2018, and two nephews were convicted in New York in a 2015 DEA drug case cited in coverage of U.S. allegations.