NEW YORK: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been brought to New York by special aircraft and is expected to appear in court today.
According to reports, the plane with President Maduro landed at Stewart International Airport which was his first stop after leaving Guantanamo Bay. The airport and the areas near it were put under strict security measures to avoid any unforeseen incidents.
It has been indicated that the FBI agents were to take Maduro into custody. Later today, he is due to appear in a New York courtroom.
Security services are said to have heightened their presence at and around the airport in order to prevent any possible incidents.
Previously, US President Donald Trump had asserted that the US government would take control of Venezuelan affairs on the ground. Speaking at a press conference following recent US military action in Venezuela, President Trump said Nicolás Maduro and his wife were arrested during a late-night operation and would face American justice.
President Trump described the operation as unprecedented, saying the world had not witnessed such action even after the Second World War. He additionally asserted that the USA had aimed at Iran’s nuclear sites in the past and via an operation dubbed “Hammer” had stripped Iran of its nuclear ability.
At the same time, the Mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani went on to condemn in the strongest terms the reported US measures against Venezuela, branding them as an act of war and a breach of international law. He pointed out that one-sided action against a state with full sovereignty amounts to war and is a manifest infringement of both federal and international laws.
