A grim-looking Nicolás Maduro appeared publicly for the first time since his capture, seen in handcuffs being escorted through New York City's DEA headquarters, during which he strangely wished agents a "Happy New Year," according to video footage and photos. Maduro looked surprisingly calm as agents escorted him through the Drug Enforcement Administration's office in Manhattan.
U.S. Army Delta Force troops had captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia, from their Caracas home late Friday night. The ousted Venezuelan dictator was dressed in black sweatpants and a black cap, gripping a water bottle as he was led through the Chelsea facility before being transferred to Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center late Saturday night.
Face of Evil
The deposed leader, dressed down in white socks and jail-issued flip-flops, was heard calmly telling the agents around him, "Good night, happy New Year," according to footage shared by the White House on X. The post was bluntly labeled a "perp walk."
The couple was dragged from the South American nation and flown to New York late Saturday night to face federal narco-terrorism charges and other offenses in the Southern District of New York.
After arriving in the city, they were processed at the Drug Enforcement Administration's headquarters, then transported by helicopter past the Statue of Liberty to a Brooklyn jail, where crowds of cheering onlookers had gathered to celebrate their capture.
"It's such a joy to see the dictator fall, but the regime hasn't fallen yet," Venezuelan national Ronny Chirinos, who relocated from Maracay to the city three years ago due to Maduro's regime, told The Post.
"I want everything to fall. That there is no one left.
Others in the crowd hailed Trump for authorizing the high-risk military operation, erupting into loud cheers and chants of "down with the dictator" and "dirty scumbag" outside the detention facility.
Maduro and Flores are expected to make their first appearance in federal court as soon as Monday.
Venezuela in Doldrums
Trump said the United States would take over governing Venezuela indefinitely, brushing aside the idea of popular opposition leader María Corina Machado stepping in and claiming she "does not have the support."
Video later showed the moment Maduro and Flores arrived in the U.S., landing aboard a white FBI Boeing 757 at Stewart Air National Guard Base in upstate New York around 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Figures believed to be the couple, surrounded by officials, were seen slowly exiting the aircraft before being whisked away by helicopter to New York City.
Because the footage was shot at night, details were hard to make out, but Maduro appeared to be in handcuffs as he was escorted across the runway to another plane.
Officials believe the pair were first flown to Puerto Rico. Earlier, a video shared by Puerto Rican broadcaster NotiCentro showed them being led onto a separate U.S. military aircraft. Filmed from several hundred yards away, the footage captures a small group boarding a plane at Ramey Base, a former U.S. Air Force runway at Rafael Hernández International Airport.
Aguadilla mayor Julio Roldán also posted on social media that the Venezuelan strongman had been "transferred" through the city, which sits on Puerto Rico's northwestern coast, roughly 600 miles north of Caracas.
"Aguadilla was the first American jurisdiction where they transferred the detainee Nicolás Maduro," Roldan said Saturday.
"An additional sample of geopolitical value Aguadilla has for our common defense."
After being seized by the U.S. Army's elite Delta Force, Maduro and his wife were airlifted by helicopter to the warship USS Iwo Jima.
