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Maduro arrives in New York after capture by US

FBI agents surrounded Maduro as he descended from a US government plane and slowly escorted him along the tarmac at a National Guard facility in New York state

This screengrab taken from the X account of Rapid Response 47, the official White House rapid response account, shows Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (C) escorted by DEA agents inside the headquarters of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in lower Manhattan, New York, on January 3, 2026. (Photo by X account of Rapid Response 47 / AFP)
By: AFP ., Journalists @New Vision

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NEWBURGH — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived Saturday evening at a military base in the United States and was transferred to New York City, after his capture by US forces in Caracas.

FBI agents surrounded Maduro as he descended from a US government plane and slowly escorted him along the tarmac at a National Guard facility in New York state.

A helicopter carrying ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro comes in to land at the Westside Heliport in New York on January 3, 2026. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

A helicopter carrying ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro comes in to land at the Westside Heliport in New York on January 3, 2026. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)


The leftist leader was then flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where a large law enforcement contingent awaited, AFP images showed.

The 63-year-old leader was to be taken first to the offices of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, then to the Metropolitan Detention Centre, a federal facility in Brooklyn, according to US media.

A motorcade carrying ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro leaves the Westside Heliport in New York on January 3, 2026. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

A motorcade carrying ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro leaves the Westside Heliport in New York on January 3, 2026. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)


The detention centre is the same jail where rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs was held throughout his trial last year.

Maduro and his wife are to be arraigned at an unspecified date before a judge in New York. They have been charged with "narco-terrorism," importing tons of cocaine into the United States, and possession of illegal weapons.
Tags:
Nicolas Maduro
Venezuela
United States
US politics
Donald Trump