www.theguardian.com
Maduro reportedly arrives at New York court
Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have arrived at a Manhattan court building, where the full list of charges against them will be read out later today, the BBC is reporting.
Key events
UN security council holds emergency meeting as Maduro appears in front of federal judge
The UN security council will hold an emergency meeting shortly, following the United States’ rendition of Nicolás Maduro, his wife, and large-scale strikes in Caracas, Venezuela.
Venezuela requested the meeting, with support from two permanent members of the security council – Russia and China.
In its 3 January letter requesting today’s meeting, Venezuela accused the US of carrying out a series of “brutal, unjustified, and unilateral armed attacks” against civilian and military sites in the country. It also accused the US of violating the UN charter.
Tim Walz announces he will not seek re-election bid for Minnesota governor
Minnesota’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz, has announced he will not seek re-election in 2026.
Walz, who was the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in 2024, has been battling a scandal within the state after several Medicaid programs were defrauded of millions of dollars. The incumbent governor initially announced he would seek a “historic” third term in office.
“As I reflected on this moment with my family and my team over the holidays, I came to the conclusion that I can’t give a political campaign my all,” Walz said in a statement today. “Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences.”
Walz added that the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers are “are playing politics with the future of our state”.
He added: “We’ve got the President of the United States demonizing our Somali neighbors and wrongly confiscating childcare funding that Minnesotans rely on. It is disgusting. And it is dangerous.”
A reminder that noted conspiracist, Trump loyalist, and MyPillow founder, Mike Lindell announced he would seek the Republican nomination for governor late last year.
Watch – Maduro escorted off helicopter to attend arraignment
We have the full video of deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, being escorted off a helicopter to attend their arraignment at a Manhattan courthouse.
One quick note – Donald Trump has no public appearances today, per his official schedule. He’ll take part in a policy meeting that’s closed to the press.
A reminder that on Air Force One on Sunday, the president doubled down and insisted that “we are in charge” of Venezuela when asked by reporters on board.
Trump said that he had not spoken with Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, but said that she is “cooperating”.
Edward Helmore
US vice-president JD Vance has addressed the apparent disconnect between the Trump administration’s military operations in Venezuela and justifications based in part of an effort to curb the trafficking of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the US.
In a post on X on Sunday, Vance said he wanted to address claims that Venezuela “has nothing to do with drugs because most of the fentanyl comes from elsewhere”.
“First off, fentanyl isn’t the only drug in the world and there is still fentanyl coming from Venezuela (or at least there was). Second, cocaine, which is the main drug trafficked out of Venezuela, is a profit center for all of the Latin America cartels,” he wrote. “If you cut out the money from cocaine (or even reduce it) you substantially weaken the cartels overall. Also, cocaine is bad too! Third, yes, a lot of fentanyl is coming out of Mexico. That continues to be a focus of our policy in Mexico and is a reason why President Trump shut the border on day one.”
Outgoing Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene raised the question of why the US was striking Venezuela if part of the purpose was to reduce fentanyl deaths in the US. (The administration said it was moving to list the synthetic opioid as a weapon of mass destruction.)
“The majority of American fentanyl overdoses and death come from Mexico,” Greene said. “Those are the Mexican cartels that are killing Americans. And so my pushback here is if this was really about narco-terrorists and about protecting Americans from cartels and drugs being brought into America, the Trump administration would be attacking the Mexican cartels.”
In his remarks, Vance said he’d seen “a lot of criticism” about oil.
He added: “About 20 years ago, Venezuela expropriated American oil property and until recently used that stolen property to get rich and fund their narco-terrorist activities. I understand the anxiety over the use of military force, but are we just supposed to allow a communist to steal our stuff in our hemisphere and do nothing? Great powers don’t act like that. The United States, thanks to President Trump’s leadership, is a great power again. Everyone should take note”.
Here are some more angles of Nicolás Maduro heading to a Manhattan courthouse in his first appearance before a US federal judge. He’s seen here arriving at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport near Wall Street.
Victoria Bekiempis
Here is some more from my colleague Victoria Bekiempis, who is in New York:
David Cardenas, a Venezuelan who said he’s a member of an opposition group, was outside waiting for proceedings.
“We were waiting for this it seems like 20 years ago, 25 years ago – since [Hugo] Chavez.”
Cardenas described Maduro’s capture as a turning of the tables. “He was laughing about me and my group, he said please don’t cry when [they] come for you … who is crying now?”
What charges do Maduro and his wife face?
The indictment alleged Nicolás Maduro and other Venezuelan leaders have, for more than 25 years, “abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States.”
The indictment alleged Maduro and his allies “provided law enforcement cover and logistical support” to major drug trafficking groups, such as the Sinaloa Cartel and Tren de Aragua gang. These criminal organizations sent profits to high-ranking officials who protected them in exchange, the justice department said.
Among other specific acts, Maduro is accused of selling Venezuelan diplomatic passports to known drug traffickers and facilitating flights under diplomatic cover to bring drug proceeds back from Mexico to Venezuela.
Maduro was indicted on four counts: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
The case was brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, an office within the justice department known for its aggressive prosecutions.
The same prosecutor’s office returned an indictment against Maduro in 2020, with the same four charges. The updated indictment made public on Saturday adds some new details and co-defendants, including Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores.
The first lady is accused of ordering kidnappings and murders, as well as accepting bribes in 2007 to arrange a meeting between drug traffickers and the director of Venezuela’s National Anti-Drug Office.
Maduro reportedly arrives at New York court
Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have arrived at a Manhattan court building, where the full list of charges against them will be read out later today, the BBC is reporting.
Victoria Bekiempis
Hours before Nicolás Maduro’s expected appearance in Manhattan federal court for alleged narco-terrorism, the sidewalk outside this courthouse was busy with press eager to snag a seat in the courtroom.
Just after 7 am, the line of journalists extended one block down Worth Street, a queue comparable to that of other large cases such as the murder proceedings against Luigi Mangione, or the sex trafficking trial against Ghislaine Maxwell.
As of 30 minutes ago, there weren’t any visible demonstrators or even members of the public with signs voicing their opinions about Maduro’s capture. But, it’s also bone chillingly cold.
Maduro pictured on his way to courthouse in Manhattan
We have a picture through on the newswires which apparently shows Nicolás Maduro on his way to the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Manhattan US Courthouse, where he is due to make an initial appearance on drugs and weapons charges in a couple of hours.
The court appearance will be largely procedural, but will start what will probably be a protracted legal battle.
As a criminal defendant in the US legal system, Maduro will have the same rights as any other person accused of a crime – including the right to a trial by a jury of regular New Yorkers.
Maduro’s lawyers are expected to contest the legality of his arrest, arguing that he is immune from prosecution as a sovereign head of state.
Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, is also due to make an initial appearance at the Manhattan federal court today.
