International
-Gaurav Sharma
Nicolás
Maduro,
once
the
most
powerful
man
in
Venezuela,
stood
in
a
New
York
courtroom
on
Monday,
marking
a
dramatic
turn
just
days
after
a
clandestine
US
military
operation
ended
his
grip
on
freedom.
The
former
president
and
his
wife,
Cilia
Flores,
were
brought
to
the
United
States
following
a
surprise
raid
in
Caracas
that
Washington
says
was
tied
to
long-standing
narcotrafficking
charges.
The
operation
unfolded
quietly
but
forcefully
on
Saturday.
US
commandos
descended
by
helicopter
into
the
Venezuelan
capital,
supported
by
fighter
jets
and
naval
units
positioned
offshore.
Maduro,
63,
and
Flores,
69,
were
detained
during
the
raid,
transferred
to
a
US
Navy
vessel
and
flown
out
of
the
country
under
tight
security.
Former
Venezuelan
President
Nicolás
Maduro
and
his
wife,
Cilia
Flores,
were
detained
in
Caracas
on
Saturday
during
a
US
military
operation
and
brought
to
a
New
York
courtroom
on
Monday.
The
operation,
linked
to
narcotrafficking
charges
and
Venezuela’s
oil
wealth,
has
led
to
their
detention
at
the
Metropolitan
Detention
Center
in
Brooklyn,
a
federal
jail.
American
officials
have
since
linked
the
case
not
only
to
alleged
drug
trafficking
but
also
to
broader
claims
involving
Venezuela’s
oil
wealth,
adding
a
geopolitical
edge
to
an
already
explosive
situation.
President
Donald
Trump
addressed
the
development
on
Sunday
in
blunt
terms,
declaring
that
the
United
States
was
now
“in
charge”
of
Venezuela.
The
statement
drew
swift
attention,
though
Secretary
of
State
Marco
Rubio
later
sought
to
cool
expectations,
cautioning
that
talk
of
elections
or
political
transition
was
“premature.”
By
Saturday
night,
Maduro
and
Flores
had
been
delivered
to
the
Metropolitan
Detention
Center
in
Brooklyn,
a
federal
jail
known
as
much
for
its
high-profile
inmates
as
for
criticism
over
its
conditions.
Former
prisoners
and
defence
lawyers
have
long
described
the
facility
as
unsanitary,
poorly
maintained
and
harsh.
The
jail
has
previously
housed
figures
such
as
Ghislaine
Maxwell,
music
executive
Sean
Combs,
and
former
Honduran
president
Juan
Orlando
Hernández,
who
was
convicted
on
drug
trafficking
charges
before
receiving
a
presidential
pardon
late
last
year.
Another
detainee,
Luigi
Mangione,
accused
in
the
killing
of
a
UnitedHealth
Group
executive,
remains
there
awaiting
trial.
Maduro’s
appearance
in
court
signals
the
next
chapter
in
a
rapidly
evolving
case—one
that
now
sits
at
the
crossroads
of
criminal
prosecution,
US
intervention
abroad
and
renewed
scrutiny
of
America’s
federal
detention
system.
