Politics
WATCH: DEA Parades A Solemn-Looking Maduro Through NYC Field Office
Deposed Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro made his most visible public appearance since his capture when he was “perp-walked” through the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) field office in New York City on Saturday evening.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in a daring pre-dawn raid involving U.S. special forces and federal law enforcement agents with the FBI and DEA. U.S. forces launched several strikes that disabled Venezuelan anti-air capabilities and quick reaction forces, which allowed operators to get in position.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan “Raizin” Cane noted that the operation was weather dependent, adding that only the most skilled aviators in the world could have pulled it off.
Maduro and his wife were ultimately taken into custody before they could get to a safe room with reinforced steel. They were then extracted to the USS Iwo Jima, and from there were transported to a U.S. airbase.
The couple was then transported to Stewart International Airport in Orange County, New York before quickly heading to New York City via helicopter. Upon arrival, the deposed dictator was transported to the DEA’s New York headquarters in an armored vehicle.
Agents then gave Maduro — dressed in black sweats and a black hat as he clutched a water bottle — a formal “perp walk” through the Chelsea facility. He oddly wished agents a “happy new year” before being taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn Saturday night.
“It’s such a joy to see the dictator fall, but the regime hasn’t fallen yet,” Venezuelan national Ronny Chirinos, who relocated to the Big Apple from Venezuela due to Maduro’s regime, told the New York Post. “I want everything to fall. That there is no one left.
Freshly sworn in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani had a different opinion, as he said during a speaking event Saturday that he directly called the White House and levied a “complaint” over Maduro’s arrest. “I registered my opposition. I made it clear. We left it at that,” the new mayor told supporters.
He further described the operation as a violation of “international law” in a social media post made earlier in the day.
“Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law,” Mamdani wrote after claiming that he had been “briefed” on the operation.
“This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn’t just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home,” he added. “My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance.”
Maduro and his wife are expected to make initial court appearances in New York federal court later this week.
