Maduro arrives at court in New York

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived at a federal court in Manhattan, New York, today, Monday, to appear before it on drug-related charges, two days after he and Rifqa were arrested in Caracas during a US military operation.

Footage shown by American media showed Maduro on his way to New York to appear before the court in a session scheduled for around noon local time, and he appeared handcuffed among a number of heavily armed security force members.
The ousted president, who is being held in Brooklyn, faces four charges related to drug trafficking and possession of automatic weapons.

Nicolas Maduro (63 years old) and his wife Celia Flores (69 years old) were named in a new indictment issued on Saturday, along with four other people, including Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who is considered one of the most powerful figures in the country, and Nicolas Maduro’s son.

They are accused, in particular, of allying with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which Washington classifies as a “terrorist” group, as well as with criminal gangs “to smuggle tons of cocaine into the United States.”

As Washington warned her of the need to take the “correct” steps, Delcy Rodriguez, who was appointed interim president of Venezuela following the operation carried out by US Special Forces on Saturday morning, expressed her readiness to cooperate with the United States within the framework of “balanced and respectful relations… based on sovereign equality and non-interference.”

She said after holding her first cabinet meeting, “We call on the American government to work together on a cooperation agenda that focuses on common development within the framework of international law in order to promote sustainable societal coexistence.”

Thus, the Vice President under Maduro shows the first signs of openness towards Donald Trump, who does not hide his intentions to lead the transition or his ambitions to exploit Venezuela’s vast oil resources.

“We are dealing with people who have just been sworn in,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday evening when asked if he had spoken to Rodriguez. “Don’t ask me who is responsible because I will give you an answer and it will be very controversial.”

When asked what he meant, he said, “It means we are the ones running” things in Venezuela.

Trump also warned Rodriguez in an interview with the American magazine “The Atlantic” that “unless she does the right thing, she will pay a very high price, perhaps even greater than Maduro.”