Hours after the U.S. Department of Justice published a new superseding indictment against Nicolás Maduro — that includes his wife, Cilia Flores; his son, known as “Nicolasito”; and the alleged leader of the Tren de Aragua cartel, “Niño Guerrero” — the airplane that was transporting the leader arrived in New York this Saturday afternoon.

The new document states that “for more than 25 years, leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust to corrupt legitimate institutions and thereby import cocaine into the United States.”

“As Venezuela’s minister of foreign affairs, MADURO MOROS provided Venezuelan diplomatic passports to drug traffickers and facilitated diplomatic cover for planes used by money launderers to repatriate drug proceeds from Mexico to Venezuela. As Venezuela’s president and now de facto ruler, MADURO MOROS allows cocaine-fueled corruption to flourish for his own benefit, for the benefit of members of his ruling regime, and for the benefit of his family members,” the indictment reads.

The document details the charges as:

The U.S. Department of Justice first charged Nicolás Maduro and other regime officials in 2020 with drug trafficking and money laundering.

Prosecutors in Florida and New York, where the charges were filed, said that since late President Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999, the Venezuelan executive branch has been conspiring with the FARC to bring tons of cocaine into U.S. territory.

Initially, the U.S. government offered a reward of $15 million for information leading to Maduro’s capture and $10 million for Diosdado Cabello.

In 2025, that reward was increased to $50 million.

This Saturday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, was also indicted and that both were charged in the Southern District of New York.

“Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolás Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States. They will soon face the full force of American justice on American soil and in American courts. On behalf of the entire U.S. Department of Justice, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American people, and a huge thank you to our brave armed forces who carried out the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international drug traffickers,” Bondi wrote on X.

“I have a message for high-ranking members of Chavismo: The party is coming to an end,” said then–U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Ariana Fajardo Orshan during a press conference.

Attorney General William Barr said that since 1999, Maduro and other high-ranking Chavista officials, such as Diosdado Cabello, president of the National Constituent Assembly (ANC), have been part of the “Cartel of the Suns,” a name that refers to the insignias worn on the uniforms of high-ranking Venezuelan military officers.

According to Barr, Maduro, as the “leader” of the Cartel of the Suns, and other Venezuelan officials worked with FARC dissidents to send approximately 250 tons of cocaine per year to the United States through the Caribbean and several Central American countries, including Honduras.

Hours after the U.S. Department of Justice published a new superseding indictment against Nicolás Maduro — that includes his wife, Cilia Flores; his son, known as “Nicolasito”; and the alleged leader of the Tren de Aragua cartel, “Niño Guerrero” — the airplane that was transporting the leader arrived in New York this Saturday afternoon.

The new document states that “for more than 25 years, leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust to corrupt legitimate institutions and thereby import cocaine into the United States.”

“As Venezuela’s minister of foreign affairs, MADURO MOROS provided Venezuelan diplomatic passports to drug traffickers and facilitated diplomatic cover for planes used by money launderers to repatriate drug proceeds from Mexico to Venezuela. As Venezuela’s president and now de facto ruler, MADURO MOROS allows cocaine-fueled corruption to flourish for his own benefit, for the benefit of members of his ruling regime, and for the benefit of his family members,” the indictment reads.

The document details the charges as:

The U.S. Department of Justice first charged Nicolás Maduro and other regime officials in 2020 with drug trafficking and money laundering.

Prosecutors in Florida and New York, where the charges were filed, said that since late President Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999, the Venezuelan executive branch has been conspiring with the FARC to bring tons of cocaine into U.S. territory.

Initially, the U.S. government offered a reward of $15 million for information leading to Maduro’s capture and $10 million for Diosdado Cabello.

In 2025, that reward was increased to $50 million.

This Saturday, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, was also indicted and that both were charged in the Southern District of New York.

“Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolás Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States. They will soon face the full force of American justice on American soil and in American courts. On behalf of the entire U.S. Department of Justice, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American people, and a huge thank you to our brave armed forces who carried out the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international drug traffickers,” Bondi wrote on X.

“I have a message for high-ranking members of Chavismo: The party is coming to an end,” said then–U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Ariana Fajardo Orshan during a press conference.

Attorney General William Barr said that since 1999, Maduro and other high-ranking Chavista officials, such as Diosdado Cabello, president of the National Constituent Assembly (ANC), have been part of the “Cartel of the Suns,” a name that refers to the insignias worn on the uniforms of high-ranking Venezuelan military officers.

According to Barr, Maduro, as the “leader” of the Cartel of the Suns, and other Venezuelan officials worked with FARC dissidents to send approximately 250 tons of cocaine per year to the United States through the Caribbean and several Central American countries, including Honduras.