Updated on: January 3, 2026 / 7:53 AM EST / CBS News

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a social media post on Saturday that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife would "soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts."

Maduro has been indicted in a U.S. federal court on at least four charges, including narco-terrorism offenses and possessing weapons "against the United States," Bondi said.

It was not immediately clear whether the nation's top lawyer was referring only to charges contained in an indictment filed against the Venezuelan leader in 2020, or if there would be new or different charges filed in an indictment Saturday.

Bondi said the Maduros were charged in the Southern District of New York, which is the same jurisdiction that handed down the 2020 indictment against the Venezuelan president. His wife, Cilia Flores, was not previously charged.

Bondi, in her post, added her thanks on behalf of the Department of Justice to President Trump, "for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers."

Top European Union diplomat Kaja Kallas said Saturday that she had spoken with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the EU's ambassador in Caracas.

She said the EU was "closely monitoring the situation" and noted that it had "repeatedly stated that Mr. Maduro lacks legitimacy."

"Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected," Kallas wrote on social media. "We call for restraint. The safety of EU citizens in the country is our top priority."

Russia and Iran were among the many nations to react quickly to the U.S. military strikes on Venezuela and President Trump announcing the capture of the Latin American nation's leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Iran condemned the attack, calling it a "flagrant violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of" Venezuela, according to the AFP news agency.

Russia's foreign ministry accused the U.S. of "an act of armed aggression against Venezuela. This is deeply concerning and condemnable" in a statement, according to the Reuters news agency.

"The pretexts used to justify such actions are unfounded," the statement said, adding a call for the prevention of "further escalation," dialogue, and backing other calls for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

President Trump announced the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro early Saturday morning 35 years to the day after U.S. forces arrested another indicted Latin American leader, the late Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega.

A onetime U.S. ally and CIA informant, Noriega led Panama for much of the 1980s, but he fell out of favor with Washington toward the end of his reign due to allegations of drug trafficking.

Former President George H.W. Bush ordered the U.S. military to invade Panama in late 1989, leading Noriega to hide out in the Vatican embassy before surrendering to U.S. authorities on Jan. 3, 1990. He was convicted in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges and spent 20 years in an American prison before being sent to France to serve a money laundering sentence, and then to Panama where he was imprisoned on murder and other charges.

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said early Saturday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had told him he "anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody."

In a post on X, Lee said he spoke with Rubio on the phone. He said he was told Maduro was arrested, "to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States," and "the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant."

The U.S. government has sought Maduro's arrest for years. He was indicted by a U.S. court in March 2020, accused along with more than a dozen other individuals of narco-terrorism.

Last summer, the Trump administration doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro's capture to $50 million.

Federal prosecutors alleged in 2020 that Maduro and other senior Venezuelan government officials collaborated with the Colombian guerilla group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or FARC, to traffic cocaine and weapons to the United States.