Venezuela’s president, wife brought to New York after US military capture

NEW YORK – 4 January 2026: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were flown to the United States on Saturday after being captured from Caracas during a US military operation, according to CBS News.

The pair landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base, north of New York City, after being transferred from Venezuela via a US naval vessel.

Their arrest took place overnight at their residence in the Venezuelan capital, after which they were taken to the USS Iwo Jima before being airlifted to New York.

US prosecutors have filed an expanded indictment in the Southern District of New York accusing Maduro of conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and import cocaine.

In a press conference following the capture, US President Donald Trump accused Maduro of being “the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States.”

US Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that Maduro and his wife will be prosecuted in US courts and that they “will soon face the full wrath of American justice.”