Maduro brought to New York after capture by US forces

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro arrived in the United States on Saturday evening after being captured by US forces in Caracas and transported to a military facility before being flown to New York City.

According to AFP images, FBI agents surrounded Maduro as he stepped off a US government aircraft at a National Guard base in New York state, escorting him slowly across the tarmac under heavy security. He was later transferred by helicopter to Manhattan, where a large contingent of law enforcement personnel was stationed.

US media reported that the 63-year-old leftist leader was to be taken first to the offices of the US Drug Enforcement Administration before being moved to the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal jail in Brooklyn. The facility previously held rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs during his trial last year.

Maduro and his wife are expected to be arraigned before a New York judge on a date yet to be announced. They face charges including “narco-terrorism,” trafficking large quantities of cocaine into the United States, and possession of illegal weapons.