Cilia Flores

Force in Play

Detained alongside Maduro in Brooklyn; pleaded not guilty January 5; appeared for March 26 hearing; trial set for June 1, 2027

Delta Force operators captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife in Caracas at 2 a.m. on January 3 as explosions rocked the capital and helicopters evacuated them to the USS Iwo Jima, bound for New York. By Saturday afternoon, Maduro arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn—the first American military capture of a sitting head of state since Manuel Noriega in 1989.

Updated 5 days ago

Force in Play

Detained at MDC Brooklyn with significant injuries from capture; pleaded not guilty January 5, 2026

Delta Force dragged Nicolás Maduro from his bedroom at 2 AM on January 3, threw him on a helicopter, and flew him to the USS Iwo Jima bound for Manhattan. The Venezuelan president now faces narco-terrorism charges in the same courthouse that convicted El Chapo.

Updated May 19