The Prince: Who is Maduro's son with a narco-terror link

On December 3, Venezuela's capital Caracas woke to explosions and bursts of gunfire as US Delta Force carried out a dramatic raid, capturing President Nicols Maduro and his wife before flying them out of the country. Maduro, now in US custody, is being produced before a Manhattan court after being indicted on multiple charges, including narco-terrorism. But he is not the only member of his family facing prosecution.

Also named in the indictment alongside six other individuals is his son, Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra, accused of conspiring to commit narco-terrorism and helping smuggle cocaine into the US, among other charges.

US prosecutors allege that he played a key role in a state-linked drug trafficking network that funnelled narcotics toward American markets.

So, who is Nicols Maduro's son, what exactly is he accused of, and where is he now?

WHO IS NICHOLAS ERNESTO MADURO GUERRA?

Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra, known as "Nicolasito" or "The Prince", was born on June 21, 1990, in Caracas, Venezuela, to Nicols Maduro, and his first wife, Adriana Guerra Angulo. He is the only son of the now deposed Nicolas Maduro.

Early in his career, he worked for Venezuela's Public Ministry until 2014, then entered politics under his father's presidency. He was appointed head of the Corps of Special Inspectors of the Presidency in 2013 and Coordinator of the Film School in 2014, despite having no film making experience.

He was elected to the 2017 Constituent Assembly where he gained notoriety for threatening the US, warning rifles would reach New York if attacked. Since 2021, he has served in the Assembly as a member of the United Socialist Party.

Following Operation Absolute Resolve, which saw US special forces capturing his father, Ernesto remains at large, with his whereabouts currently unknown. He made a public statement to the people of Venezuela on January 5, condemning the US action and alleging an internal conspiracy.

He stated, "Venezuela repudiates and denounces the grave military aggression by the government of the United States of America, which constitutes a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations... Damn the traitors! We have to move forward and resist through this adversity."

He also called upon Venezuelans to do all they could to defy the US, stating, "You will see us in the streets, you will see us by people's sides, you will see us fly the flag of dignity," he said in an audio message shared online. "They want us to appear weak, but we will not show weakness," he added. His statement comes even as Venezuela's interim government vows unity behind President Maduro despite US warnings.

WHAT ARE THE CRIMES THE US HAS CHARGED ERNESTO WITH?

Along with his father and others, Ernesto Maduro is accused of drug-related offences in a federal indictment in the US. He is charged in the Manhattan indictment, which was first reported by Bloomberg, with conspiring to import cocaine into America as part of a larger narco-terrorism conspiracy that allegedly involved smuggling large amounts of cocaine through Venezuela with the assistance of criminal organisations like the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles and Mexican cartels.

Additionally, prosecutors claim that he arranged shipments to US locations including Miami and transported cocaine using state-owned planes, allegedly flying a Venezuelan PDVSA flight filled with contraband.

According to the accusation, he was in possession of destructive devices and machine guns that were used to safeguard the trafficking enterprise. According to US law, these offences might result in life terms if found guilty.

The sins of the father seem to have passed to the son, with the US Department of Justice alleging that Ernesto Maduro is as deeply implicated as Nicols Maduro in the same crimes.

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