Indictment prepared by the US against Maduro revealed

Following the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores by the US in a military operation yesterday, during which they were taken to New York, the indictment prepared against Maduro has been obtained.

As reported by Cumhuriyet, in the new indictment unsealed by the US Department of Justice, it is alleged that Maduro established a “corrupt and illegitimate regime” and managed a large-scale drug network that funneled thousands of tons of cocaine into the US.

The capture of Maduro and his wife in Venezuela and their subsequent transport to the US has brought the case to a critical stage in the federal court process in Manhattan.

“THEY WILL FACE AMERICAN JUSTICE”

US Attorney General Pam Bondi stated in a post on her X account that Maduro and his wife “will face the full force of American justice on American soil, in American courts.”

FOUR SEPARATE CHARGES

According to the indictment, Nicolás Maduro will be tried alongside his wife, his son, and three other individuals.

The charges brought against Maduro are as follows:

• Conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism
• Conspiracy to import cocaine
• Possession of machine guns and destructive devices
• Conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices

CASE OPENED IN 2020, NOW EXPANDED

Maduro was first accused of similar charges in the Manhattan Federal Court in 2020, during Donald Trump’s first presidential term.

It was stated that the new indictment, opened on Saturday, was prepared secretly by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York just before Christmas and has been expanded this time to include Maduro’s wife.

COURT IN MANHATTAN, PRISON IN BROOKLYN

While it is not yet clear when Maduro and Cilia Flores will appear in court in Manhattan, it was reported that Maduro is expected to be held in a federal prison in Brooklyn during the trial process.

“COLLABORATION WITH THE WORLD’S LARGEST NARCO-TERRORISTS”

The indictment alleges that Maduro collaborated with “the world’s most violent and largest drug traffickers and narco-terrorists.”

According to US prosecutors, organizations such as the Sinaloa Cartel and Tren de Aragua worked directly with the Venezuelan state, and proceeds from drugs were funneled to high-level officials.

“A CORRUPTION SCHEME FUELED BY COCAINE”

The prosecution argued that Maduro allowed a “corruption scheme fueled by cocaine” to operate for his own benefit, as well as for his family and the upper echelons of the regime.

According to the indictment, Maduro and his family provided logistical support and law enforcement protection to the cartels. Through this, it is alleged that by 2020, approximately 250 tons of cocaine were being shipped to the US via Venezuela annually.

SHIPMENT ROUTES DETAILED ONE BY ONE

It was stated that the drugs were transported via speedboats, fishing vessels, container ships, and aircraft taking off from clandestine airstrips.

ALLEGATIONS OF KIDNAPPING, ASSAULT, AND MURDER

US authorities also alleged that Maduro and his wife issued orders for kidnapping, assault, and murder against individuals who owed drug debts or threatened the organization’s activities. The file also included the murder of a local drug lord in Caracas.

BRIBERY CHARGE AGAINST CILIA FLORES

The indictment alleges that in 2007, Cilia Flores arranged a meeting between a large-scale drug trafficker and the director of the Venezuelan National Anti-Drug Office by accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes.

It was claimed that approximately 100 thousand dollars were paid for each cocaine-laden flight, and a portion of this money was transferred to Flores.

“PRESIDENTIAL HANGAR” DETAIL

It was alleged that the nephews of Maduro’s wife, in recorded conversations with undercover US sources in 2015, described planning shipments of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from a “presidential hangar” belonging to Maduro.

It was reported that the nephews also stated in the conversations that they were “at war” with the US.

PRISON SENTENCES AND PRISONER SWAP

The individuals in question were sentenced to 18 years in prison each in 2017, and were released in 2022 as part of a prisoner swap in exchange for the release of seven US citizens.