by helicopter, with streets closed and an escort of 5 vehicles

Maduro and Flores were transferred from federal prison Metropolitan of Brooklyn (MDC) to a field on the outskirts of the city, from where they were put on a helicopter that took them to a heliport near the federal courthouse in southern New York.

The aircraft landed minutes later near the judicial building.

Subsequently, both were taken in a convoy composed of five vehicles and under a strong police escort to the court, according to images broadcast by US media.

The police, meanwhile, kept several streets in the surrounding area closed during the security operation.

Help from agents

Maduro, guarded by agents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), descended with great difficulty and he had to be helped by the agents to get into an armored vehicle that took him to the court.

This Monday’s appearance constitutes the first time that Maduro appears before US justiceafter the Department of Justice made public last Saturday an indictment against him for crimes related to drug trafficking, originally filed in 2020.

This expanded accusation reiterates the charges against Maduro, the main accused of narcoterrorism conspiracyconspiracy to import cocaine, conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to use those weapons.

But, for the first time, the accusation includes Cilia Flores, Maduro’s wife, whom the Prosecutor’s Office points out, according to its investigation, for her alleged involvement in the coordination of meetings and the logistics of the network.

According to prosecutors, his incorporation expands the scope of the case and supports the hypothesis that drug trafficking was part of a network organized from the highest levels of Venezuelan power.

The case is located in the Southern District of New York and is being instructed by federal judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, 92 years old.

After the initial hearingcial, the court is expected to determine the next steps of the processincluding the conditions of detention and the judicial calendar of the case.