President Volodymyr Zelensky has encouraged the United States to go after another dictator after the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro in an overnight operation.
After a meeting of national security advisers from foreign countries, the Ukrainian leader made a cryptic remark on what America should do after Maduro’s arrest.
“If dictators can be dealt with like this, then the United States of America knows what it should do next,” Zelensky told reporters at a briefing in Kyiv.
The session, attended by officials from European nations and NATO, was to prepare for this week’s meeting between Ukraine and the Coalition of the Willing in Paris, France.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn late Saturday after being transferred from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s office in Manhattan.
The deposed Venezuelan President will remain in federal custody ahead of his trial for narcoterrorism and weapons charges filed in the Southern District of New York.
Ousted after nearly 13 years in power, the 63-year-old faces a four-count indictment. The U.S. accuses him of leading the Cartel de los Soles, designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Also indicted are Maduro’s wife, his son, two top Venezuelan officials, and an alleged leader of the Tren de Aragua, which is equally classified as a terrorist organization.
Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is now Venezuela’s Acting President, succeeding her principal, who reportedly rejected President Donald Trump’s late-December ultimatum to leave office and go into exile.
