Evidence from credible sources supports the statement as accurate. Learn more in Methodology.
Confirm that Nicolás Maduro is physically detained by U.S. authorities and has pending criminal proceedings/charges filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Independent reporting from multiple credible outlets confirms that Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces and transported to New York, where he is being held in federal custody and will be prosecuted on U.S. criminal charges. The Associated Press and ABC News report that Maduro arrived in New York on January 3–4, 2026, after a U.S. military operation and is in U.S. custody facing narco‑terrorism conspiracy and related drug‑trafficking charges.
CBS News specifies that the case is brought in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and that Maduro and his wife are scheduled to appear in federal court there, while being detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. NBC News similarly notes that the superseding indictment against Maduro and his alleged co‑conspirators is an SDNY case concerning a long‑running cocaine‑trafficking conspiracy. A pre‑existing SDNY indictment against Maduro for narco‑terrorism was filed in 2020, supporting that SDNY is the prosecuting district.
Based on this evidence, the statement that Nicolás Maduro is in U.S. custody and facing U.S. justice in the Southern District of New York is accurate: he is detained by U.S. authorities and is being prosecuted in SDNY.
Therefore, the verdict is True because reputable news organizations and Justice Department records show that Maduro is both in U.S. custody and under criminal prosecution in the Southern District of New York.