A solemn-faced Nicolás Maduro was seen for the first time since his capture making a handcuffed perp walk inside New York City’s DEA headquarters — in which he oddly wished agents a “Happy New Year,” according to video and snaps.
The toppled Venezuelan tyrant sported black sweats and a black hat as he clutched a water bottle while being escorted through the Chelsea facility before being taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn Saturday night.
Maduro arrives at DEA’s NYC HQ following his arrest in Venezuela.
The ousted dictator — also seen in white socks and jail-issued flip-flops — can be heard saying “Good Night, Happy New Year,” to surrounding agents, according to a footage released by the White House in a post on X they labeled “Perp walk.”
Follow The Post’s live coverage of US strikes on Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured from their home by US forces in a stunning overnight operation in Venezuela’s capital of Caracas early Saturday morning.
The couple were dragged out of the South American country, landing in the Big Apple Saturday night to face federal narco-terrorism charges and other offenses in the Southern District of New York.
After touching down in New York City, they were processed at the drug enforcement agency’s building before being taken by helicotpter past the Statue of Liberty to the Brooklyn lock up, where they were met with hundreds of revelers celebrating their capture.
Image posted on President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account on January 3, 2026, shows John Ratcliffe, Donald Trump, and Marco Rubio watching Nicolás Maduro’s capture unfold. Donald Trump/ Truth Social
Nicolás Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima. Donald Trump/ Truth Social
A Department of Justice aircraft arrives with Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. AP
“It’s such a joy to see the dictator fall, but the regime hasn’t fallen yet,” Venezuelan national Ronny Chirinos, who relocated from Maracay to the city three years ago due to Maduro’s regime, told The Post.
“I want everything to fall. That there is no one left.
Others praised President Trump for the high-stakes military mission, as the boisterous crowd triumphantly applauded and chanted “down with the dictator,” and “dirty scumbag” outside the lockup.
Maduro and Flores are expected to appear in federal court as early as Monday.
