Trump releases photo of captured, handcuffed Maduro

Captured Maduro

Donald Trump, president of the United States, has released a photograph showing Nicolás Maduro, president of Venezuela, boarding a US military aircraft en route to the United States.

Trump shared the image on Saturday, saying it was taken shortly after airstrikes carried out by US forces.Maduro is expected to stand trial in the United States over narco-terrorism charges filed against him by US authorities.Pam Bondi, US attorney general, said Maduro and Cilia Flores, his wife, had been indicted after US military operations in Venezuela.

The indictment unveiled by Bondi is a superseding charge that expands on allegations first brought against Maduro in 2020 during Trump’s first term.

“Since his early days in Venezuelan government, MADURO MOROS has tarnished every public office he has held,” the indictment reads.The indictment accuses Maduro of more than two decades of involvement in drug trafficking, including moving cocaine “under the protection of Venezuelan law enforcement”.According to the indictment, Maduro provided diplomatic passports to drug traffickers while serving as foreign minister and facilitated diplomatic cover for aircraft used to launder drug proceeds.

It further alleges that as president, Maduro allowed “cocaine-fuelled corruption” to flourish for his personal benefit, his family and members of his ruling regime.

The charges against Maduro include narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess such weapons against the United States.

The indictment said the US state department estimated in 2020 that between 200 and 250 tonnes of cocaine were trafficked through Venezuela annually. Thecable