On January 5, the Swiss government froze all assets of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and those close to him. The measure, which takes effect immediately and remains in place for four years until further notice, aims to prevent the export of potentially illegally acquired assets from Switzerland.
The Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not specify how many assets linked to Maduro are held within its jurisdiction.
Swiss officials indicated that the asset freeze was taking place against the backdrop of Maduro’s loss of power, which could prompt “Venezuela to initiate legal aid procedures for illegally acquired assets in the future.”
Separately, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was taken on January 3 to New York federal court to face drug trafficking charges. Prior to this, he had been moved from a Brooklyn location to Manhattan.
On the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States had launched a large-scale military operation against Venezuela, claiming that Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, were captured and taken away from Venezuelan territory.
The Russian Foreign Ministry urged the United States to release Maduro and called for diplomatic resolution of existing tensions between the parties.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez reported on January 4 that most of Maduro’s security personnel had died as a result of U.S. actions, stating that the Venezuelan parliament would resume its operations on January 5.
Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis stated on January 3 that the reasons for the U.S. military attack on Venezuela were entirely fabricated and that Washington would have been unlikely to remain silent if such an operation had targeted its own country.
