Indictment against Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, wife unsealed

A federal indictment charging Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, his wife and four other people was unsealed Saturday and posted online by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on the heels of the couple’s dramatic capture by American forces in their own country.

“For over 25 years, leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States,” the indictment alleges.

The indictment was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. In addition to Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, the indictment also charges Maduro’s son, Nicolas Ernesto Maduoro Guerra, Diosado Cabello Rondon, Ramon Rodriguez Chachin, and Hector Rusthenford Guerro Flores. Read the indictment here.

“Nicolas Maduro Moros, the defendant, now sits atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking,” the indictment said.

“That drug trafficking has enriched and entrenched Venezuela’s political and military elite, including Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace Diosado Cabello Rondon, the defendant, and former Minister of the Interior and Justice Ramon Rodriguez Chachin, the defendant.”