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The capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro was about “more than just drugs,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in her first interview about military operation on “Hannity” on Monday.
Maduro and the other defendants could face charges elsewhere, Bondi said.
“Nothing is off the table,” Bondi told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “These people should remain behind bars. They are responsible for the loss of so many lives, and they are not street drug dealers. They are drug dealers.”
On Monday, Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty narcoterrorism and other charges in federal court.
The Justice Department said Maduro provided “Venezuelan diplomatic passports drug dealers and facilitated diplomatic cover for aircraft used by money launderers to repatriate drug proceeds from Mexico to Venezuela.”
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro greets his supporters during a rally in Caracas on December 1, 2025. (Pedro Matti/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A man who had a brief conversation with Maduro in a Manhattan court spoke to Fox News about the dictator declared himself a “prisoner of war” and compared himself to Jesus.
“I am innocent, I am not guilty,” Maduro told the court. “I'm a decent person. I am still the president of my country.”
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Some Democrats have criticized the military operation as a violation of state sovereignty, comparing it to former President George W. Bush's actions in Iraq.
Meanwhile, Bondi insisted that “Operation Absolute Resolve” was “inside” the president. Donald TrumpThe constitutional power of Russia in response to criticism.
The individuals escorted from the plane were believed to be carrying Maduro, his wife, after Operation Absolute Resolve under the cover of darkness. (Do)
“It was the task of law enforcement to arrest the accused in Venezuela,” Bondi explained. “Our military carried it out flawlessly, flawlessly.”
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She went on to stress that Saturday's undercover operation “saved countless lives.”
“The president saved thousands, countless lives tonight,” Bondi said. “But he also protected Americans from TDA [Tren de Aragua] members that Maduro allowed into our country were forced into our country.”
Captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Celia Flores appear with their lawyers Barry Pollack and Mark Donnelly at their arraignment in federal court in New York on Monday, January 5, 2026. (Jane Rosenberg)
The attorney general listed several murder victims of Venezuelan gang members, including 22-year-old Laken Riley and 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray.
“It’s terrible and it will stop,” she promised.
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Although Trump said The US will temporarily “rule” VenezuelaMaduro's government allies disputed that claim.
The Venezuelan dictator and his wife will appear in court again on March 17.
