Captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro arrived at a Manhattan federal courthouse Monday after a highly controlled transfer from a Brooklyn detention facility.
The 63-year-old, who faces U.S. charges including narco-terrorism and weapons offenses, was moved before dawn under heavy security. A motorcade with armored vehicles was seen leaving the Metropolitan Detention Center, where Maduro had been held since being flown to the United States following his capture in Caracas.
Footage showed Maduro in handcuffs, wearing beige prison clothing and orange trainers, being escorted into a vehicle before being transported by helicopter to the Wall Street Heliport. Federal agents then led him, flanked by armed police and DEA officers, into another armored convoy bound for the courthouse. He arrived shortly before 8 a.m. local time.
Maduro, who ruled Venezuela for 12 years, appeared subdued during the transfer. Former President Donald Trump, who ordered the operation that led to Maduro’s capture, has claimed the Venezuelan leader tried and failed to escape during the raid.
U.S. prosecutors accuse Maduro of overseeing a corrupt regime that protected and profited from international drug trafficking. His wife, Cilia Flores also arrested during the U.S. operation is scheduled to appear alongside him in court.
Both are expected to be formally presented with the charges during today’s proceedings at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse.
