Nicolás Maduro is being taken to the United States, with officials indicating he is ultimately headed to New York to face U.S. criminal charges.

Where they are taking Maduro

  • U.S. officials and President Donald Trump have said Maduro was captured in Venezuela and flown out of the country as part of a large-scale U.S. military operation.
  • Reporting indicates he was first transported by helicopter to the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, positioned off the coast, after his capture.
  • Trump and U.S. officials have said Maduro is being taken to New York to face longstanding U.S. narcoterrorism and related charges that were filed in federal court years earlier.

Likely place of detention

  • While officials have not publicly confirmed the exact facility, defendants facing federal charges in Manhattan are typically held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn or another federal pretrial facility in the New York area.
  • Some early reports and expert commentary suggest Maduro is currently being held aboard the USS Iwo Jima in an officer’s stateroom while transport and legal arrangements are finalized.

Why he is being taken there

  • Maduro has been under U.S. indictment since 2020 on narcoterrorism and drug-trafficking-related charges, making New York—where those charges were filed—the logical venue for his initial court appearances.
  • U.S. officials are framing the capture and transfer as part of an expanded campaign against drug trafficking and as a move to remove Maduro from power in Venezuela.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.