Brain behind...: Expert on US capturing Maduro's wife

Foreign Affairs Expert Robinder Sachdev on Sunday highlighted the reason for the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3, 2025.

 

Sachdev, in an interview with ANI, said that Flores, a member of the Venezuelan parliament, is considered a key figure in Maduro's administration and is accused of being involved in drug trafficking. The US reportedly captured her to prevent her from rallying support for Maduro in Venezuela.

 

"Maduro will face the charges in New York. His wife has also been captured. The reason for abducting his wife is that Maduro's wife is also a member of the Venezuelan parliament. She is a brilliant, smart lady, and it is said that she is the brain behind Maduro. So America did not want to leave her in Venezuela because then she would have mobilised and rallied support for Maduro politically. They have also charged her with similar drug trafficking charges. So they abducted both of them and now in New York the case will be run against them," he said.

 

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by US forces in a large-scale military operation in Caracas and are now facing charges in New York.

 

The couple is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, with Maduro facing charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy.

 

The US has announced plans to "run" Venezuela until a safe transition can be made, sparking international debate and concern over the operation's legality and implications for regional stability.

 

Sachdev said the operation was a spectacular success.

 

"America's attack on Venezuela and the capture of Maduro is something unprecedented. It has never ever happened before. The kind of military operation carried out by America. On the military side, no doubt it was a spectacular success executed flawlessly," he said.

 

The operation, framed as a law-enforcement matter rather than a military operation, involved US Special Forces and law-enforcement officials. Sachdev explained that the US didn't need Congressional approval for the operation because it was framed as a law-enforcement operation rather than a military attack. -- ANI