Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has indicated Florida is considering whether to file state charges against Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Maduro was seized Saturday in a daring U.S. raid that brought him to New York City for trial on federal charges.
As noted by CBS, the case against Maduro will come before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Alvin Hellerstein, 92, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton who CBS characterized as “a thorn in Trump’s side.”
Hellerstein has taken an adversarial position against President Donald Trump in his criminal case in New York state, and has also ruled for illegal immigrants, seeking to halt their deportation last year.
DeSantis said his state was “looking very seriously” at state charges against the dictator, according to Politico.
“He was obviously very involved with bringing drugs, particularly to Florida,” DeSantis said Tuesday.
“You know what he would also do? And this is not in the federal indictment in New York — he would empty his prisons and send them to America across the border, and we’d end up with some of these people in Florida,” DeSantis said.
Stay tuned… https://t.co/LYHkKYER3K
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 5, 2026
In a Monday post on X, DeSantis wrote “Stay tuned” in reply to a post about state charges.
In a later post, he said the concept of double jeopardy does not apply.
“Separate sovereigns. Double jeopardy doesn’t attach. So he can face both state and federal charges,” the governor posted.
DeSantis also replied to a post floating the idea that a jury in deep-blue New York City could find Maduro innocent of the federal charges against him.
“Dunno but I bet those odds will be different if/when Maduro faces state charges in Miami,” DeSantis posted.
Dunno but I bet those odds will be different if/when Maduro faces state charges in Miami. https://t.co/YZGtnEVtqj
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 5, 2026
Former state and federal prosecutor David Weinstein said that DeSantis appeared to be talking about “a crime called capital trafficking in cocaine,” according to CBS.
“Part of that statute includes punishment by death if you import and distribute more than 300 kilograms of cocaine, and if you had a reasonable knowledge that death could result from it,” he said.
Other possible charges could include drug trafficking, money laundering, and charges related to gang activity, Weinstein said.
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