“The United States successfully carried out a surgical law enforcement operation facilitated by the U.S. military against two indicted fugitives of American justice, narco-terrorist Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores,” said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz. “Nicolas Maduro is responsible for attacks on the people of the United States, for destabilizing the Western Hemisphere, and illegitimately repressing the people of Venezuela.”
There is no war against Venezuela or its people, stressed Ambassador Waltz.
“We are not occupying a country. This was a law enforcement operation in furtherance of lawful indictments that have existed for decades. The United States arrested a narcotrafficker who is now going to stand trial in the United States in accordance with the rule of law for the crimes he’s committed against our people for 15 years.”
A similar action was taken in 1989 against Panamanian President Manuel Noriega. He was arrested, indicted, convicted in a court of law, served in prison in the United States and in Panama. And the Panamanian people, the American people, are safer for it. And undeniably, the region was more stable.
Nicolas Maduro and his co-defendant Cilia Flores have been indicted by a grand jury in the Southern District of New York and face criminal charges for their involvement in a wide-ranging conspiracy to conduct narcoterrorism, traffic cocaine and other drugs, and conduct international weapons trafficking.
“Maduro is not just an indicted drug trafficker,” said Ambassador Waltz. “He was an illegitimate so-called president.”
In 2024, a UN panel of experts report found that the election in that year was a complete farce. Indeed, over 50 countries rejected the legitimacy of Maduro’s re-election following the disputed 2024 elections and do not recognize him as Venezuela’s legitimately elected president.
Maduro and his cronies have partnered with some of the most violent drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world facilitating the flood of illegal drugs coming into the United States. He has aided and abetted international terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, coordinating with corrupt Iranian officials, and other malign actors to influence not only the region but the United States.
“[W]e’re not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be used as a base of operation for our nation’s adversaries, and competitors, and rivals of the United States,” stated Ambassador Waltz.
“You can’t turn Venezuela into the operating hub for Iran, for Hezbollah, for gangs, for the Cuban intelligence agents and other malign actors that control that country. You cannot continue to have the largest energy reserves in the world under the control of adversaries of the United States, under the control of illegitimate leaders, and not benefiting the people of Venezuela, and stolen by a handful of oligarchs inside of Venezuela.”
But it doesn’t stop there. Numerous UN and international human rights organizations have issued reports documenting serious human rights abuses by the Maduro regime.
The U.S. believes a better future for the people of Venezuela will stabilize the region and make the Western Hemisphere a much better and safer place.
The United States will not waver in its actions to protect Americans from the scourge of narcoterrorism and seeks peace, liberty, and justice for the great people of Venezuela.
Maduro and Flores Face Criminal Charges in US
- Policy Office
“The United States successfully carried out a surgical law enforcement operation facilitated by the U.S. military against two indicted fugitives of American justice, narco-terrorist Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores,” said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz.
