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U.S. pursuing second criminal investigation into Maduro, sources say

Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is escorted to the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse on Jan. 5, in Manhattan for an initial appearance to face U.S. federal charges including narco-terrorism, conspiracy, drug trafficking, money laundering and others, at Downtown Manhattan Heliport, in New York City.  (Reuters )
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By Andrew Goudsward and Jana Winter Reuters

WASHINGTON – The U.S. is pursuing a second criminal investigation into ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, raising the possibility that he could face additional charges, according ​to a Justice Department official and another source familiar with the matter.

The second investigation, run out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami, has ⁠been ongoing for months, according to the two sources, who spoke on the condition ‌of anonymity to discuss a pending investigation.

The ​Florida probe was active at the time that President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. military raid that captured Maduro, 63, and his wife, Cilia Flores, 69, in January, according to the ⁠DOJ official. It has examined potential money laundering ‌allegations, according to the ‌other source.

A lawyer for Maduro and a Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for ⁠comment.

CBS News was first to report on the second investigation run out of Florida. It is not clear if that ‌probe will lead to additional ‌charges.

Maduro has already been charged in federal court in Manhattan with narcoterrorism conspiracy and other offenses tied to alleged drug trafficking. ⁠He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting ​trial in a Brooklyn ⁠jail.

The New ​York indictment, originally filed in 2020, was cited as legal justification for the U.S. special forces raid in Caracas that deposed Maduro as Venezuela’s leader.

The Florida investigation could give ⁠the Justice Department a fallback option if it faces legal complications in Maduro’s New York case. Trump in March suggested that Maduro will ⁠face additional charges in the U.S.

The same U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami on Monday unsealed money laundering charges against Maduro ally Alex Saab. The office is also expected on ⁠Wednesday to charge former Cuban ‌President Raul Castro over the downing of ​planes piloted by ‌a Cuban exile group in 1996.

Saab’s arrest and deportation suggested ​a new level of collaboration between U.S. and Venezuelan law enforcement under acting President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward and Jana Winter; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Thomas Derpinghaus)