Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has received his first consular visit while detained in a Brooklyn, New York jail, according to Venezuelan Minister of Interior and Justice Diosdado Cabello. The confirmation comes as Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, face federal charges in the U.S., including allegations of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism. The development underscores the ongoing legal and diplomatic complexities surrounding the couple’s capture, and detention.
Cabello stated Friday that efforts to secure the release of Maduro and Flores are continuous. “Every day, we build efforts to have Nicolás and Cilia returned to us,” he said during a public appearance in Valles del Tuy, Miranda state.
The minister confirmed that a Venezuelan official recently visited Maduro and Flores at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn. “He already had his first consular visit. It was granted to him. There he speaks with one of our officials from Venezuela, and he can express anything he wishes to express,” Cabello explained.
The visit was authorized under international law, Cabello added, despite Venezuela lacking a diplomatic presence in the United States since 2019 following a breakdown in bilateral relations and U.S. Recognition of opposition leader Juan Guaidó.
According to a letter from prosecutor Jay Clayton to Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, the consular visit was agreed upon during the couple’s initial court appearance on January 5, 2026. Maduro pleaded not guilty to federal charges in a New York court in January, following his capture in Caracas by U.S. Forces.
