THE NEW YORK TIMES: Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called Mr. Maduro, the Venezuelan leader who faces narco-terrorism charges, a “fugitive from American justice.”
Trump administration officials seeking to remove Nicolás Maduro as the leader of Venezuela have been citing a federal indictment returned half a decade ago in Manhattan as one justification.
The indictment, by a grand jury in March 2020 during President Trump’s first term, charges Mr. Maduro in a decades-long narco-terrorism and international cocaine trafficking conspiracy, and accuses him of overseeing a violent drug cartel as he rose to lead the South American nation. The United States is offering a $50 million reward for his capture.
The United States does not recognize Mr. Maduro as Venezuela’s president, but the decision to indict a putative head of state was unusual, representing an escalation of the Trump administration’s efforts to pressure Mr. Maduro to leave office.
Now, with the charges still pending, Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser, has repeatedly mentioned the 2020 indictment and called Mr. Maduro a “fugitive from American justice,” seemingly opening the door further to efforts by the United States to oust Mr. Maduro and seize him as it would any criminal on the run from the law. » | Benjamin Weiser | Wednesday, October 1, 2025
