‘Stay Tuned’: DeSantis Teases State Charges Against Nicolás Maduro

After breaking his silence on the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at a Monday morning press conference, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis teased on social media that Maduro could face state charges in the near future.

Maduro pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking, weapons, and narco-terrorism charges in a Manhattan courtroom on Monday after the Venezuelan leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken from their home in the middle of the night on Saturday and flown to the U.S. Flores also pleaded not guilty to all charges.

On Monday morning, DeSantis hailed Maduro’s arrest, calling his and his predecessor Hugo Chávez’s regime one of the most destructive in the Western Hemisphere.

“For many, many years, we’ve seen the country of Venezuela suffering the yoke of Marxist ideology, first with Hugo Chávez and then with Nicolás Maduro,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of people in the state of Florida that have firsthand knowledge of that.”

Following his press conference, DeSantis made cryptic posts on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. On Monday afternoon, DeSantis wrote in a response to prediction market Polymarket ‘s post about the odds of Maduro being found guilty in federal court, “Dunno but I bet those odds will be different if/when Maduro faces state charges in Miami.”

An X user then asked, “Are there charges in Florida? That would be magnificent.” DeSantis mysteriously replied, “Stay tuned…” The governor responded to another tweet to explain that double jeopardy doesn’t apply, meaning that Maduro can face both state and federal charges.

In response to New Times‘ questions about whether the state is preparing charges against Maduro, DeSantis’ deputy press secretary, Ted Veerman, wrote in an email, “Stay tuned!” The Attorney General’s Office did not respond to New Times‘ request for comment prior to publication.

During a Tuesday evening appearance on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime, DeSantis told Watters that Florida has the right to bring “pertinent” charges in state court.

“You may see charges filed in a place like Miami or Doral, which we are entitled to do,” he said.

Ediberto Roman, a professor at Florida International University (FIU) College of Law, views DeSantis’ tweets as “political.”

“Frankly, it’s also insulting because when the federal government brings claims, particularly the U.S. attorney’s office of any jurisdiction, notwithstanding recent shenanigans that we’ve seen in a host of political cases, the realities are that these cases are typically investigated by the FBI or other federal law enforcement officials, that a considerable amount of time is put into this, and their success rates don’t turn on whether it’s New York or Florida,” he says.

Roman notes that charges cannot just appear out of thin air. He emphasized the need for a thorough investigation before filing any charges.

“It also demonstrates a lack of seriousness on the part of the individual making blatantly political comments. What would be the basis for bringing the charges here, drug trafficking?” Roman tells New Times. “So, what state officials have investigated the narco-trafficking efforts by Maduro in Venezuela?…But just to make an offhand comment saying the charges could be brought here, well, shouldn’t they do some work before they even consider whether charges can be brought, in terms of some investigative work? So I think it’s almost laughable, frankly.”

During an unrelated news conference on Tuesday about congressional insider trading, DeSantis said the attorney general’s office is “seriously looking into” bringing a state case against Maduro, stating that the charges could be related to drug trafficking and immigration.

“He was obviously very involved with bringing drugs, particularly to Florida,” DeSantis added. “But 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.”

He called Maduro sending gang members into Florida a “very hostile act.”

“We are looking at the statutes to see, obviously, we’ve got robust narcotics statutes, but certainly on that importing the criminal element,” DeSantis added.

The state government hasn’t shied away from filing state charges in conjunction with ongoing federal and international cases. DeSantis and then-Attorney General Ashley Moody filed state charges against Ryan Routh, who tried to assassinate President Donald Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach in September 2024. They alleged that Routh, who has since been convicted in federal court for his plot to kill Trump, was responsible for a traffic accident that seriously injured a 6-year-old girl as he fled the scene. DeSantis had questioned whether the then-Biden-era Justice Department would prosecute the case fairly and transparently amid the two federal investigations against Trump, so he asked state officers to “take the lead” instead.

“The federal government has stonewalled Florida’s investigation of the Trump assassination attempt at every turn, and I appreciate Attorney General Ashley Moody and her team for plowing forward despite such resistance,” DeSantis said in a December 2024 press release.

Two months after becoming Florida’s next attorney general in February 2025, James Uthmeier announced the state had attempted first-degree murder charges and a terrorism charge against Routh. Following in his predecessor’s footsteps, he admonished the Biden administration for trying to stop the state’s investigation into the incident.

“My office, as well as our law enforcement partners, were met with major roadblocks in prosecuting this case during Biden’s term,” Uthmeier said in a public statement last April. “Biden and his attorney general sought to frustrate our efforts and block our investigation into the man who crossed into this state and attempted to commit political violence against a Florida resident.”

Similarly, Uthmeier and DeSantis inserted themselves into the saga surrounding the controversial brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate, who were charged with human trafficking in Romania. After they arrived in Florida last year following the removal of their travel restrictions, the state opened a criminal investigation into the brothers.

“These guys have publicly admitted to participating in what very much appears to be soliciting, trafficking, preying upon women around the world,” Uthmeier told E.W. Scripps reporter Forrest Saunders in March 2025.

“If these guys did criminal activity here in Florida,” Uthmeier said, “we will go after them with the full force of law and hold them accountable.”