The ousted Venezuelan leader was captured by U.S. forces in Caracas.
By Katherine Faulders, Aaron Katersky, and David Brennan
Ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are scheduled to make their initial appearances on Monday in a federal court in Manhattan following their capture by U.S. forces in a military operation in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.
The couple is expected to appear in front of Judge Alvin Hellerstein at 12 p.m. ET. Both are currently being held in federal custody at MDC-Brooklyn.
It is not yet clear whether Maduro and Flores had retained legal counsel ahead of their arraignments. Maduro has long denied all the allegations.
Maduro and Flores are among six defendants named in a four-count superseding indictment that accused them of conspiring with violent, dangerous drug traffickers for the last 25 years.
Maduro's son, two high-ranking Venezuelan officials and an alleged leader of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang are the other defendants.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the U.S. "successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela" in which Maduro and Flores were "captured and flown out of the Country."
Trump said the operation was carried out in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement. Members of Congress said the military, which sources said included the elite Delta Force, was in place to support that law enforcement operation.
In a move that alarmed some observers, Trump, who campaigned on "America First" and against foreign entanglements, said during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago the U.S. would "run" Venezuela for an unspecified "period of time."
He said a team comprised of some of his Cabinet officials along with a local team in Venezuela would be "running the country" because there is "nobody to take over."
"We'll run it properly. We'll run it professionally. We'll have the greatest oil companies in the world go in and invest billions and billions of dollars and take out money, use that money in Venezuela, and the biggest beneficiary are going to be the people of Venezuela," Trump said.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has been sworn in as interim leader to lead the country after what the Venezuelan Supreme Court described as Maduro's "kidnapping."
Rodriguez demanded Maduro's return and vowed to defend Venezuela against American aggression.
On Sunday, Rodriguez posted a statement to social media in which she appeared to soften her tone, inviting "the U.S. government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence."
Trump told reporters on Sunday that the U.S. is "in charge" of Venezuela.
The president said he had not yet spoken to Rodriguez. Asked if he wanted to, Trump said, "At the right time, I will."
ABC News' Meghan Mistry and Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.
