Captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro could face the death penalty if convicted on federal drug-trafficking and related charges in the United States.
Maduro was arrested in a US raid at his palace in Caracas and is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York ahead of his arraignment scheduled for Monday, January 5, at a federal court in Manhattan.
Under US federal law, a defendant found guilty of drug offences committed “as part of a continuing criminal enterprise” may be eligible for capital punishment. Legal authorities note, however, that death sentences for drug-related crimes are rare, as most federal capital cases involve homicide.
If convicted, Maduro is more likely to face life imprisonment, though the possibility of a death sentence remains under the statute.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi stated on Saturday that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil,” without specifying what punishment prosecutors would pursue.
The latest charges build on a 2020 indictment that accused Maduro and other senior Venezuelan figures of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons-related offences, including possession of machine guns.
US President Donald Trump has compared the operation that led to Maduro’s capture to the 1989 US action in Panama that resulted in the arrest of former leader Manuel Noriega, who was later tried and imprisoned in the United States.