New York, Jan 4 (NationPress) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, recently apprehended by US Delta Force operatives, has arrived in New York to confront allegations of narco-terrorism in a federal court.

Accompanied by his wife, Cilia Flores, they landed at the Stewart Air National Guard Base on Saturday, where a helicopter transported them to a heliport in downtown Manhattan, close to federal buildings and courts.

In a highly secure environment, they were escorted away in a motorcade. Their first destination is anticipated to be the Drug Enforcement Agency office for processing.

They will be held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Brooklyn, a notorious federal detention facility, as they await their trial.

With a $50 million bounty placed on his head, Maduro is slated to appear in court on Monday for an initial hearing.

Following the aircraft's landing on Saturday afternoon, FBI agents surrounded the plane to swiftly remove the couple.

During Operation Absolute Resolve, Maduro was taken early Saturday morning from the Fuerte Tiuna military base, where he was hiding, to the Iwo Jima, one of the naval ships in the armada surrounding Venezuela.

Officials reported that more than 150 aircraft are part of this operation.

According to charges detailed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, Maduro and his associates are accused of narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession of weapons.

An indictment from 2020 also accused them of leading the drug organization known as Cartel de los Soles.

President Donald Trump has suggested the trial might be moved to Miami, home to a large population of Venezuelan exiles, and the news of Maduro's capture has sparked celebrations.

“A decision will be made, I assume, between New York and Miami or [elsewhere] in Florida,” Trump stated.

Trump has characterized Maduro's capture as part of an anti-drug initiative, portraying it as a standard law enforcement action to sidestep international law regarding national sovereignty.

Currently, Maduro’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who was sworn in as his successor, remains in her position.

“She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” Trump remarked.

In a strong rebuttal, Rodríguez accused the US of aggression, stating, “This regime change would also allow for the seizure of our energy, mineral, and natural resources.”

“There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolás Maduro,” she asserted.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented on Rodríguez and the interim administration, stating, “We’re going to make decisions based on their actions and their deeds in the days and weeks to come.”

However, complicating the situation, Trump has also stated, “We are going to run the country right,” insinuating potential economic benefits from Venezuela’s oil wealth.

He accused Caracas of “stealing” US wealth due to its nationalization of American petroleum investments.

Trump has assured that there will be no ground troops in Venezuela, without clarifying how the US would “run” the country.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado, last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, has also claimed the presidency for Edmundo Gonzalez, who opposed Maduro in the 2024 election, widely regarded as rigged by the US and other international observers.

Gonzalez ran as the opposition candidate after Maduro barred Machado from participating in the election.

While Trump has backed the notion of a rigged election and Gonzalez being the rightful winner, he has remained silent on the matter.

The Justice Department stated in the indictment that Maduro, along with his wife and several current and former interior ministers, operated a drug trafficking network for 25 years, sitting “atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity.”

The charges also involve leaders of the Tren de Aragua, a violent Venezuelan gang that expanded across the US during former President Joe Biden’s administration, as well as Colombian terrorist groups FARC and ELN, and Mexican drug cartels Sinaloa and Zeta.

Maduro and his affiliates are accused of collaborating with these organizations to operate the alleged drug trafficking scheme.