US President Donald Trump releases first photo of Nicolas Maduro on board USS Iwo Jima | World News
US President Donald Trump releases first photo of Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima
US President Donald Trump has released the first photo of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima.
Donald Trump has released the first photo of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (Photo: Truth Social)
The United States captured Maduro in an extraordinary night-time operation on Saturday.
Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country to the US, where they will face charges related to drug-trafficking.
The US has long accused Maduro of leading a drug cartel responsible for smuggling contraband into the US, a charge which he has repeatedly denied.
Indictment against Maduro and his wife
Following the capture of Maduro and his wife, the US Justice Department released a new indictment of them.Story continues below this ad
The indictment accuses Maduro of leading a “corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.”
It alleges that the drug trafficking efforts “enriched and entrenched Venezuela’s political and military elite.”
US. authorities allege that Maduro partnered with “some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrors in the world” to bring tons of cocaine into the US, according to the indictment.
Authorities estimate that as much as 250 tons of cocaine were trafficked through Venezuela 2020, according to the indictment. The drugs were moved on go-fast vessels, fishing boats, and container ships or via planes from clandestine airstrips, authorities allege.
