Key Highlights
- In a stunning military operation conducted in the early morning hours on Saturday, the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, along with his wife Cilia Flores, to face federal charges stemming from their alleged involvement in the drug trade and maintaining a dictatorship within the country.
- For months, President Donald Trump had urged Maduro to step down from his role as the country’s leader – in what has been widely viewed as an illegitimate position – while accusing him of supporting drug cartels that have been designated as terror organizations by the U. S.
- According to U. S.
- officials, the Department of Justice requested military assistance in apprehending Maduro after he – and later his wife, son, two political figures and an alleged international gang leader – had been indicted on federal terrorism, drugs and weapons charges in 2020.
- While questions have swirled regarding the legality of the Trump administration's actions, the U. S.
