Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, arrived at a New York courthouse on Monday to appear before a judge in the coming hours, facing charges related to drug trafficking. Their arrival follows their capture on Saturday during a U.S. military operation against the South American country.
Live footage showed the couple being transported by helicopter, then escorted by agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and placed in an armored vehicle before being driven to the courthouse.
Both Maduro and Flores were dressed in beige clothing and wore sneakers—orange in the president’s case and blue in the first lady’s. Both had their hands bound and their heads uncovered.
Monday’s hearing will be presided over by 92-year-old Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who was confirmed to the bench in 1998 during Bill Clinton’s presidency. Throughout his career, the judge has overseen cases stemming from the September 11, 2001 attacks and others related to terrorism and national security.
In fact, former Venezuelan General and intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal Barrios pleaded guilty in July 2025 before this same judge to charges related to narcoterrorism—the same charges Maduro faces—and drug trafficking.
