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Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro faces a U.S. court trial months after Caracas' capture.
As reported, the ousted Venezuelan president returns to a U.S. court on Thursday to face criminal charges, including narcoterrorism and cocaine importation conspiracy, for allegedly leading a cartel that collaborated with the FARC to ship drugs.
Following his capture in Caracas by US Special Forces on January 3, 2026, Maduro pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Moreover, Maduro and his co-defendants maintain that the case is a US imperialism conspiracy to destabilize Venezuela.
The 2006 statute has only led to four trial convictions in 20 years, as prosecutors must prove a “terrorism nexus”, showing that the defendant knew the drug trafficking was linked to a terrorist organization.
He and his fellow officials deny all wrongdoing, labeling the charges as a manipulative plot by powerful nations to harm Venezuela.
Maduro, 63, led Venezuela from 2013 through his capture in Caracas by U.S. special forces on January 3.
He pleaded not guilty on January 5 to all U.S. charges against him.
The 2006 statute at issue, enacted to target drug trafficking tied to activities the United States considers terrorism, has produced just four trial convictions, a Reuters review of federal court records shows—and two were later overturned over issues stemming from witness credibility.
