Maduro and his wife to be arraigned in Manhattan after U.S. raid

Nicols Maduro, the ousted Venezuelan president, and his wife are expected to appear on Monday at a federal court in Manhattan to face charges, two days after they were captured during a U.S. military raid in Caracas. An unsealed indictment charges Mr. Maduro with narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine, among other counts, and charges his wife, Cilia Flores, in the cocaine conspiracy.

They are being held at Brooklyns Metropolitan Detention Center. Initial hearings such as Mondays arraignment are often brief; the couple are expected to plead not guilty, the judge will almost certainly order them detained, and it could be well over a year before a jury is seated to weigh the evidence.

President Trump on Sunday asserted again that the United States was "in charge" of Venezuela and suggested the U.S. could take action against other countries, including Colombia, Mexico and Greenland. Asked whether the U.S. would conduct an operation against Colombia, he said, "it sounds good to me." Hours earlier, a top U.S.

diplomat had pivoted away from earlier suggestions of direct control and said the administration would instead try to coerce cooperation from new leaders in Caracas. The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to convene an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the U.S. raid, and Trump administration officials plan briefings for Congressional leaders after pleas from Democrats who say they were kept in the dark.

Key Topics

World, Nicolas Maduro, Cilia Flores, Metropolitan Detention Center, Us Raid, Un Security Council