The superseding federal indictment unsealed against Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday immediately after his capture closely resembles 2020 charges against him but has several important new twists: the new indictment appears to embrace controversial claims made by the Trump administration about a Venezuelan street gang, Tren de Aragua (TdA). Maduro was captured by US forces early on Saturday and ferreted out of the country after a series of explosions in the Venezuelan capital. Though the indictment doesn’t allege Maduro ever met Guerrero Flores, it builds the case in court for what critics say are Donald Trump’s exaggerated and unsubstantiated allegations about TdA. The deportation of purported TdA members, with no court oversight, to El Salvador’s Cecot prison has been one of the most contested parts of Trump’s deportation efforts. Intelligence from inside the US ran counter to all of Trump’s claims about Tren de Aragua.

Source: The Guardian January 04, 2026 21:11 UTC