Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was indicted in the United States in 2020 on drug-terror charges, is set to stand trial for the first time in six years.
It follows a pre-dawn U.S. strike on Venezuela on the 3rd (local time) that led to the arrest of President Maduro and his wife. U.S. President Donald Trump personally disclosed the arrest.
According to Reuters, Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, told people around him that "President Maduro has been taken into custody by the U.S. military and will face criminal trial in the United States."
Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican, said after a phone call with Minister Rubio that "Maduro is in U.S. custody, so Rubio predicted there would be no further military action in Venezuela."
Maduro is appearing in a U.S. court because in March 2020, during the first Trump administration, he was brought to trial in the United States on charges including drug trafficking and money laundering. At the time, indicting a sitting head of state was considered extremely rare.
U.S. federal prosecutors alleged that President Maduro and others conspired with remnants of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), formerly Colombia's largest rebel group, and "flooded the United States with cocaine," estimating that 200 to 250 tons (t) of cocaine were being smuggled out of Venezuela.
At the time, U.S. Attorney General William Barr referred to President Maduro as the head of a drug-trafficking organization known as the "Cartel of the Suns," criticizing that "while the Venezuelan people suffer, they have enriched themselves, and the Maduro regime is awash in corruption and crime."
After years of investigation, U.S. federal prosecutors indicted President Maduro. The New York prosecutors said, "Maduro and his associates have been in a drug-terror partnership with FARC for the past 20 years," adding, "This scale and scope of drug trafficking was possible because Maduro and corrupt government agencies provided political and military protection."
Prosecutors in Florida also said they found evidence of ongoing money laundering by Maduro's side through assets ranging from luxury yachts to multimillion-dollar condos.
At the time of the indictment, the U.S. State Department announced it would pay a $15 million (about 21.7 billion won) reward for information leading to President Maduro's arrest and conviction, and it offered $10 million (about 14.5 billion won) each for four of his associates.
In January this year, immediately after the launch of the second Trump administration, the United States raised the reward for President Maduro to $25 million (about 36.2 billion won), and then in Aug. raised it again to $50 million (about 72.3 billion won). U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the increase and identified President Maduro as one of the world's largest drug traffickers.