Nicolas Maduro could face death penalty if fallen Venezuelan dictator convicted

 Fallen Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro could face the death penalty if convicted on federal drug-trafficking and other charges.

The strongman was nabbed at his Caracas palace in a daring US raid and is now being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn pending his arraignment Monday on a four-count indictment.

If found guilty, Maduro is likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars — or worse.

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Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is escorted by federal agents in New York City on Saturday.Obtained by the NY Post

Under federal law, a defendant found guilty of violating the Controlled Substances Act “as part of a continuing criminal enterprise” can be eligible for the death penalty, according to the Library of Congress.

Federal capital offenses fall under categories that are, namely, homicide, treason or espionage and drug offenses that do not include a homicide.

Still, death sentences for drug offenses are far from common.

“Most capital offenses involve a homicide,” the site said. “More defendants are sentenced to death for murder than for all of the other federal capital offenses.”

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Maduro could face the death penalty if convicted.via REUTERS

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Maduro is expected to make his first appearance in Manhattan federal court on Monday.Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post

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Maduro flashes a peace sign after arriving in Manhattan.HZ/BACKGRID

In a post on X on Saturday, US Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, “will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts” but did not mention what sentence the Justice Department would seek if there is a conviction.

President Trump’s raid on Venezuela has drawn comparisons to the 1989 strike on Panama to capture Manual Noriega on orders from President George H. W. Bush — with the US opting for prison for Noriega.

Maduro and other Venezuelan leaders were originally named in a 2020 drug trafficking indictment, with a federal grand jury this year adding the new counts to the complaint.

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The sensational tale of Maduro’s capture was immortalized on The Post’s front page on Jan. 4, 2026.

The new indictment names Maduro and a half-dozen others and charges them with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and two counts tied to possession of machine guns.

Maduro and Flores are currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

A rep for the US Attorney of the Southern District of New York did not respond to a Post request for comment.

https://nypost.com/2026/01/05/us-news/nicolas-maduro-could-face-death-penalty-if-convicted/