Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was transported to the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York City on the evening of January 3, where he will await trial.
This is reported by the BBC.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were first flown to Stewart Air Force Base. From there, the Venezuelan leader was flown to Manhattan to the headquarters of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for processing.
Maduro is currently being held in a New York detention center pending charges of drug and weapons possession. The facility previously held Jeffrey Epsteinʼs accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and music producer Sean P. Diddy Combs.
The institution has a dismal reputation for harsh conditions of detention, incidents of violence, and systematic neglect of the security and medical care of prisoners.
Maduroʼs trial is scheduled for the evening of January 5. The detention status of his wife is not yet clear.
Meanwhile, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Venezuela has ruled that the duties of the head of state in the absence of Nicolas Maduro will be performed by Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, writes Reuters.
The court ruling states that Rodriguez will assume the office of president of Venezuela to "ensure administrative continuity and the comprehensive protection of the nation".
Prior to this, Rodriguez stated that "Nicolas Maduro is the only president of Venezuela, and the country will never be anyoneʼs colony". Rodriguez also called for the release of Maduro and his wife.
Her statement came shortly after the US president reported that Rodriguez had already been sworn in as the countryʼs new leader.
The US operation in Venezuela
At least seven explosions rocked Caracas, Venezuela, on the night of January 3. Several military installations in the country were targeted on the orders of US President Donald Trump, including the La Carlota and Fuerte Tiuna air bases, the La Guaira seaport, the home of the defense minister, and the El Volcán signal antenna.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has declared a state of emergency across the country. At least 11 facilities are estimated to have been attacked, including the parliament building. CNN reported that the US Senate Defense Committee was not informed of the operation in advance.
According to Trump, Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were detained and deported from the country to the United States. They were charged with narcoterrorism, cocaine importation, illegal possession of machine guns and explosives, and conspiracy against the United States.
Donald Trump said that the United States plans to govern Venezuela until it can ensure a "safe, orderly, and prudent transition of power", and is also prepared for a second, more powerful attack on Venezuela, but that there is no need for this right now.
In addition, according to Trump, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez had a phone conversation with Marco Rubio and stated that Caracas is ready to cooperate with Washington "to make Venezuela ʼgreat againʼ".
At the same time, Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate Maria Machado, according to Trump, has no support in the country, and the United States has not contacted her.
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