What were the legal indictments and charges against Nicolás Maduro filed by the U.S. Department of Justice?
Executive summary
The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed a four‑count superseding indictment charging Nicolás Maduro with narco‑terrorism and related drug and weapons offenses, updating a long‑running case first filed in 2011 and expanded in 2025–2026 narco-terrorism-charges-against-maduro">narco-terrorism" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">[1] [2]. The core allegations portray Maduro and co‑defendants as leaders of a multi‑decade conspiracy to traffic cocaine into the United States in partnership with designated narco‑terrorist and cartel groups, while also engaging in illegal weapons activity [3] [4].
1. The formal charges listed in the superseding indictment
The unsealed superseding indictment in the Southern District of New York brings four counts against Maduro and some co‑defendants: narco‑terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machineguns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices — the same four counts described across DOJ, Reuters and multiple press reports [1] [3] [5].
2. What the narco‑terrorism and trafficking allegations assert
Prosecutors allege a roughly 25‑year scheme in which Maduro and senior Venezuelan officials “partnered” with narco‑terrorist groups, drug cartels and violent criminal gangs to send hundreds of tons of cocaine through Venezuela to transshipment points en route to the United States, providing logistical support, protection and corrupt government cover in exchange for proceeds and political benefit [4] [6] [3].
3. Who else the indictment names and what roles are alleged
The superseding indictment names multiple co‑defendants and newly added figures, including Maduro’s wife Cilia Flores and his son Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra, as well as senior officials such as Diosdado Cabello and Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, plus alleged gang and FARC leaders — and assigns different counts to different defendants (for example, Flores faces drug and weapons counts but not the narco‑terrorism count) [1] [7] [8].
4. Weapons and forfeiture components of the case
Besides drug‑related counts, the indictment ties possession and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices to the broader narcotics enterprise and seeks forfeiture of property “constituting, derived from, or intended to be used in furtherance of” the charged offenses, reflecting the DOJ’s inclusion of traditional organized‑crime and asset‑seizure tools in the prosecution [9] [2] [1].
5. Procedural history, public framing and competing narratives
This superseding indictment updates a case with origins in filings unsealed in 2020 and older SDNY matters, and it has been publicly framed by U.S. officials as accountability for transnational narcotics corruption while Maduro and Venezuelan authorities call the charges politically motivated and claim sovereign immunity as head of state — a dispute reflected in Venezuelan denunciations and legal counterclaims [10] [11] [12]. U.S. officials have also tied the alleged conspiracy to designated foreign terrorist organizations and cartels, a framing that expands the national‑security and criminal law rationale for the prosecution [4] [6].
6. Immediate courtroom posture and limits of reporting
Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty at an initial federal court appearance after he was brought to New York, and the DOJ’s public materials and the indictment set out factual allegations for trial, not findings of guilt; reporting documents the charges and the government's theory but cannot establish guilt or the ultimate legal outcome without adjudication [13] [2]. Several outlets note humanitarian and diplomatic critiques that charging a sitting or former head of state carries geopolitical consequences and contested legal defenses — points the record documents but does not resolve [10] [11].