Nicolás Maduro arrives in New York after capture by US forces

A plane carrying deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has arrived in New York following his capture by US forces, an AP source says

At around 5:25 p.m., a person in custody was escorted out of the plane believed to be carrying Maduro.

The person gingerly made his way down a stairway one step at a time, then was led across the tarmac surrounded by a crowd of at least three dozen federal agents.

Several agents in the crowd appeared to film the person on their phones.

The Justice Department has released a new indictment of Maduro and his wife for their alleged role in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

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The indictment accuses Maduro of leading “a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.”

It alleges that the drug trafficking efforts “enriched and entrenched Venezuela's political and military elite.”

US authorities allege that Maduro partnered with “some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world” to bring tonnes of cocaine into the US, according to the indictment.

Authorities estimate that as much as 250 tonnes of cocaine were trafficked through Venezuela by 2020, according to the indictment.

The drugs were moved on go-fast vessels, fishing boats and container ships or via planes from clandestine airstrips, authorities allege.