VENEZUELA’S MADURO TO APPEAR BEFORE JUDGE IN NEW YORK ON MONDAY
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By: Sefiu Ajape
Venezuela’s deposed president, Nicolas Maduro, is set to appear before a federal judge in New York at noon on Monday to be formally notified of charges against him, the court confirmed.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized by US forces during a pre-dawn raid on Saturday in Caracas and brought to New York to face charges of “narcoterrorism” linked to the alleged trafficking of tons of cocaine into the United States.
Meanwhile, five Latin American countries—Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay—and Spain warned on Sunday against any outside attempt at “control” of Venezuela, following US President Donald Trump’s comments that Washington would “run” the country and gain access to its oil.
In a joint statement, the nations expressed their “rejection” of US forces’ ousting of Maduro as Venezuela’s president and raised “concern about any attempt at governmental control or administration or outside appropriation of natural or strategic resources.”
Trump, meanwhile, threatened that Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, would pay a “very big price” if she failed to cooperate with the United States following Maduro’s capture.
“If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump told The Atlantic in a brief telephone interview. He added that the US administration was willing to work with the rest of Maduro’s government as long as Washington’s goals, including opening access to US investment in Venezuela’s crude oil reserves, were met.
Rodriguez, confirmed as interim president by Venezuela’s Supreme Court and military officials, sounded defiant after the US raid, saying Maduro remained the country’s “sole legitimate leader” and that “we’re ready to defend our natural resources.”
Trump, who has long campaigned against US nation-building and regime change abroad, told The Atlantic, “Rebuilding there and regime change—anything you want to call it—is better than what you have right now.”
He added, “Rebuilding is not a bad thing in Venezuela’s case. The country’s gone to hell. It’s a failed country. It’s a totally failed country. It’s a country that’s a disaster in every way.”
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