Maduro to appear in US court at 2 a.m. KST on the 6th… charged with 'drug terrorism'

Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, who was arrested by U.S. forces and detained at a federal detention center in New York, is scheduled to appear in a U.S. court for the first time on the 5th (local time).

According to U.S. media including The Washington Post (WP), The New York Times (NYT), and CNN on the 4th, he is scheduled to appear at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan at noon Eastern Time on the 5th (2 a.m. KST on the 6th) to undergo a plea procedure. His wife, Cilia Flores, who was arrested and transported along with President Maduro, will also appear.

The U.S. Department of Justice released a new indictment against President Maduro the previous day. He was indicted in March 2020, during the first Trump administration, on charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, and so-called 'drug terrorism.' The new indictment supplements that earlier one.

The new indictment added his wife Flores, his son, Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, and other family members and close associates to those to be charged.

Maduro's trial will be presided over by Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is 92 this year. Appointed by former President Bill Clinton, Judge Hellerstein has handled this case for more than 10 years, CNN reported.

Earlier, President Maduro was captured in a U.S. surprise operation at a safe house in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and was transported to New York by helicopter, the amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima, aircraft, and helicopters. He was later officially taken into custody by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New York office and detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Jin Young-gi, Hankyung.com reporter young71@hankyung.com