WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who is back in court in New York, could face further charges.
Maduro has pleaded not guilty to charges including “narco-terrorism” conspiracy, cocaine importation and possession of machine guns after he was snatched by US forces in a nighttime raid in January.
“I would imagine there are other trials coming because they’ve really sued him just at a fraction of the kind of things that he’s done,” Trump told a cabinet meeting.
“Other cases are going to be brought, as you probably know,” Trump said, giving no further details.
Thursday’s hearing will likely see Maduro push for the dismissal of his case.
US pressure
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores were forcibly taken by US commandos in the early hours of Jan 3 in airstrikes on the Venezuelan capital backed by warplanes and a heavy naval deployment.
At least 83 people died and more than 112 people were injured in the assault, according to Venezuelan officials. No US service members were killed.
At his first US court appearance in January, Maduro struck a defiant tone as he identified himself as the president of Venezuela despite being captured.
The South American country is now led by Delcy Rodriguez, who had been Maduro’s vice president since 2018.
Under US pressure, she is grappling with leading a country saddled with the world’s largest proven oil reserves but an economy in shambles.
Rodriguez has since enacted a historic amnesty law to free political prisoners jailed under Maduro and reformed oil and mining regulations in line with US demands for access to her country’s vast natural wealth.
This month, the State Department said it was restoring diplomatic ties with Venezuela in a sign of thawing relations.
