Overview
- An SDNY indictment charges Nicolás Maduro with narco‑terrorism conspiracy, cocaine import conspiracy, and weapons offenses that carry potential life sentences, and he and Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty before Judge Alvin Hellerstein with the next hearing scheduled for March 17.
- Maduro’s defense is preparing to challenge U.S. jurisdiction on sovereign‑immunity grounds and warns the government may rely on classified evidence, a combination that legal experts say could complicate and prolong proceedings.
- The pair remain held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as New York authorities review transport protocols for future court movements, with interagency planning meetings expected in the coming weeks.
- U.S. special forces detained Maduro and his wife in Caracas on January 3 and moved them via a Navy warship and Guantánamo to New York, with The Washington Post reporting about 100 deaths linked to the operation.
- President Donald Trump told major oil executives the U.S. will oversee which companies can develop Venezuela’s reserves and claimed at least $100 billion in potential investment, while some firms signaled caution about legal and political risks.