Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, August 17, 2024.
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Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores face multiple charges in the United States following President Trump's announcement early Saturday morning that US attacked Caracas and took them into custody.
Maduro, Flores and senior Venezuelan officials are charged with alleged “drug trafficking and narco-terrorism plots,” according to the unsealed indictment. posted on social networks On Saturday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The indictment alleges that, beginning in 1999, the defendants collaborated with international drug trafficking organizations to ultimately transport thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States.
Maduro and his wife “will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.” Bondi wrote in the previous post on X.
Nicolas Maduro and his wife Celia Flores have been charged in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro is charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@Agpambondi) January 3, 2026
The new indictment adds to those brought by the first Trump administration, when the US Department of Justice announced federal indictment against Maduro in March 2020.
What alleged charge that Maduro was the leader of the Cartel de los Soles and that he and the other defendants took part in a narco-terrorism plot with the Colombian guerrilla group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Prosecutors said the Cartel de los Soles consisted of high-ranking Venezuelan officials who abused the Venezuelan people and corrupted national institutions in order to import large amounts of cocaine into the United States.
According to the 2020 indictment, Maduro helped manage and eventually lead the Cartel de los Soles, which sought to become rich and flood the United States with cocaine, allegedly using the drug as a weapon against the United States.
Prosecutors said Maduro helped negotiate multi-ton cocaine shipments and directed the Cartel de los Soles to provide the FARC with military-grade weapons.
He also allegedly coordinated international affairs with Honduras and other countries to facilitate large-scale drug trafficking.
The current Trump administration has increased the pressure over the past year. In November 2025, the United States recognized the Cartel de los Soles foreign terrorist organization.
The new indictment, unsealed Saturday, repeats those charges and also alleges that Maduro “collaborated” with organizations such as the Sinaloa Cartel, the Zetas and the Tren de Aragua.
Separately, the International Criminal Court was investigation into the actions of the Venezuelan government for alleged torture, sexual violence and arbitrary detention.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
