Governor Kathy Hochul says her administration is monitoring potential threats to safety in New York following the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife overnight. Hochul denounced the mission calling it a “flagrant abuse of power by acting without congressional approval.”
It follows air strikes by the U.S. military on Venezuela’s capital in what President Donald Trump called an effort to crack down on illegal drugs and immigrants.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says Maduro and his wife have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Bondi, a Trump appointee, says Maduro has been charged with alleged Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.
Officials in Maduro’s government called the strike an “imperialist attack.”
During a press briefing Saturday, Trump said the U.S. will “run” Venezuela until a “safe transition” of power can occur. The president did not make any plans of the U.S. running the Latin American country clear.
Hochul says there are no credible threats to the state at this time.
Hochul continued that “New York is home to a vibrant Venezuelan community, and I stand with families here and abroad in their hopes for a better, more stable future.”
