The constitutional President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, will appear today before a New York court, following his kidnapping on the 3rd of January during an air strike ordered by Donald Trump and executed by the United States special forces.
According to a spokesperson for the Southern District of New York Court, Maduro and his wife, Deputy Cilia Flores, will be brought before Federal Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in Manhattan at 12:00 local time.
Since Saturday night both entered the Metropolitan Detention Centre (MDC) in Brooklyn, a federal high-security prison, and this will be the first hearing before United States justice following the staging of a case which, in the view of observers, only pursues regime change in Venezuela and the announced control by Trump himself of the South American nation’s oil reserves.
The hearing will take place just 48 hours after the United States Government announced the abduction of the Bolivarian leader and his life partner, in an operation that included bombings against targets at several points in Venezuela.
Pam Bondi, United States Attorney General, published on X a joint statement with the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) about the operation that resulted in Maduro’s kidnapping.
She indicated that the action required months of planning and had the objective of «ensuring the safe transfer of the accused to the country to face the federal charges brought against them.»
«All legal options were explored to resolve the situation peacefully,» but the responsibility for the outcome lies with «the persistence in criminal conduct» of the accused, stated Bondi.
The Answer coalition warned that after weeks of threats by Trump that a ground invasion in Venezuela would soon begin, the aggression occurred and that this could be the beginning of another war, based completely on lies.
For the anti-war organisation, this would not be about the Trump Government’s fight against drug trafficking nor about defending democracy, but about stealing Venezuela’s oil and dominating Latin America.
Shortly before 17:00 local time on Saturday, the aircraft that brought Maduro landed at a New York military base, who descended from the aircraft some time later under heavy security, hooded, walking with difficulty and apparently handcuffed. Visibility was very low, according to images transmitted here on television.
This weekend saw protests against the war and in support of Venezuela in several United States cities, including the country’s capital. Yesterday also took place a massive demonstration in front of the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, where Maduro and his wife are under custody.
The gathering demanded from Trump an end to coups d’état, to United States interventionism and to the kidnapping of a sovereign nation’s president.
Seventy percent of the country’s citizens are against military action in Venezuela, in line with the polls.
