New York Times article reporting that at least 40 civilians and some military officials were killed in Venezuela by the U.S. air strike conducted to kidnap President Maduro and first lady Cilia. Pictured is Wilman Gonzalez, who carries furniture from his home. His aunt, Rosa Gonzalez, 80, lived with him, was killed in the attack,
Photo Credit: New York TImes;

Early Saturday morning, as residents and visitors of Beacon checked their socials for news and uplifting content after coasting through Friday’s extension of the entrance to the New Year, they learned that the 47th president of the United States ordered the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro, who is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician.

The U.S. air strike to seize the couple resulted in the killing of 40 people in Venezuela, including military officials and civilians, the New York Times reported who sourced Venezuelan officials, Here’s Why With Kevin reported. Also highlighted was that an 80 year old woman named Rosa Gonzalez was killed by the air strike, one which “ripped through her apartment.” It was reported that she lived in a 3-story apartment building in Catia La Mar near the Caracas airport among other elderly residential neighbors, who were also badly injured.

The Venezuelan President and First Lady were flown to Stewart Air National Guard Base on Saturday evening, which has an office for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) component, according to DHS’ website.

Why Stewart?

The unexpected association of Stewart Airport and Newburgh with the Venezuelan kidnapping has prompted many Hudson Valley locals to ask: “Why Stewart?”

The airport started as Stewart Airfield, located in the Town of Newburgh, NY, and opened in 1934 under the direction of Douglas MacArthur, General and former Chief of Staff of the United States Army, on land donated by “a 19th-century Scottish-born sea captain, Lachlan Stewart, and his son.” It was built out for the then original Department of War during WWII.

In 1948, the Stewart air force base became a base for the then newly formed United States Air Force and was called the Stewart Air Force Base. The year of 1948 is also the year of the Nakba in Palestine (aka النَّكْبَة, “the catastrophe”) which was the beginning of the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to set up the occupation for what is now labeled as Israel. Stewart Air Force Base continued training missions with West Point.

The base was deactivated in 1970 and was taken over by New York State to become a civilian airport, known more widely as Stewart International Airport (which only had one international airline, which just left) and locally for cheap flights for Florida and Iceland (but not anymore), as well as inconsistent arrangements with commercial air carriers who pull out of servicing the airport amid multi-million dollar improvement grants for Stewart International Airport.

In 1980, the base was opened in an agreement with New York State and the New York Air National Guard (ANG), and is now also known as Stewart Air National Guard Base, according to Wikipedia. The following year, American hostages freed from Iran were flown to the base.

Questions About The International-ness of Stewart International Airport

But wait - is Stewart International Airport even commercially International anymore? Aside from flying in kidnapped dictators or presidents from outside the country?

The Chronogram asked in July 2025 when news broke that international airline Play pulled out: “For Hudson Valley-area residents with a taste for travel, Play’s parting is most unwelcome news, and questions abound as to why airlines keep failing there, and about what comes next for the beleaguered airport.”

The Chronogram also pointed out in their article: “The airline’s departure is expected to cut into already lagging airport traffic. Following a peak of over 900,000 passengers in 2007 and $220 million in investments since then, the airport received just 277,000 passengers last year, according to data from the airport’s operator, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.”

Who is getting all of the infrastructure investments?

The Charges To Try To Justify Kidnapping Circle Back To Tren de Aragua

In addition to Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, the indictment also charges Maduro’s son, Nicolas Ernesto Maduoro Guerra, Diosado Cabello Rondon, Ramon Rodriguez Chachin, and Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores (aka Niño Guerrero, the supposed leader of Tren de Aragua, the group alluded to often when ICE is kidnapping someone in the United States for deportation).

The charges, as reported by CNBC, include a narco-terrorism conspiracy charge; cocaine importation conspiracy; possession of machine guns and destructive devices; and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. The charges can be read here.

Protests At Stewart Air National Guard Base

Before being flown to New York City for detainment of Maduro and Cilia, the plane was met by protesters organized in part by Mid Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists. “We got word earlier in the afternoon that they were flying Maduro in,” a source told A Little Beacon Blog. “So we went and protested the whole day.”

Protest posters read: “No War For Venezuelan Oil” and “Kidnapped President Inside” and “Hands Off Venezuela” and “No Illegal War,” among others.

“No War On Venezuela,” Mid Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists declared on their Instagram. “We won’t stand for the Trump administration’s unilateral attack on Venezuela. A U.S. Military plane brought President Maduro to Stewart Airport today, while our members held the line outside to make it clear: this war will hurt working people across the globe. We stand in solidarity with the sovereign people of Venezuela and call on Congress to pass a War Powers Resolution to block Trump’s military aggression.”

Photojournalist Alexa B. Wilkinson was on the scene and filmed this video, giving ALBB permission to publish.

Alexa reported what they witnessed at the scene: “On Jan 3 at 21:30 UTC, Nicolas Maduro’s transport flight landed at Stewart Air [National Guard] Base in Newburgh, NY. OTG (On The Ground) press wasn’t able to get anywhere close to the part of the base where he was disembarking, however press choppers were circling above providing footage now widely seen of DEA & FBI agents boarding the plane and preparing him for his NYPD chopper ride down to NYC. Locals came out to film and watch the base from afar, causing traffic jams on NY-17K and a spectacle at the restaurant across the street. From a distance, you could see transport vehicles circling a plane moving into different positions, but it’s unknown which agency they belonged to.”

Photos by Alexa B. Wilkinson at Stewart Airport:

Complex reported on New York’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s statement expressing concern about the taking of the Venezuelan President: “The blatant pursuit of regime change doesn’t just affect those abroad. It directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home. My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance.”

Some people in the Comments who said they were from Venezuela told the new mayor to “sit this one out,” and supported Maduro being taken out of power. Meanwhile, the United States President is suspected of pedophilia and convicted of 34 felony accounts of falsified business records for hush money for a sex scandal. He was successfully sued for sexual assault for $88.3 million in awarded damages, while other lawsuits may begin after release of the Epstein Files. Yet, no one has violently taken him out of power for these crimes.

Regarding the local landing, the Town of Newburgh’s Mayor Torrance Harvey stated on his Facebook page: “The United States President has Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in custody!!! They first arrived at the Newburgh Stewart Airbase!! They are in transit to a Brooklyn Detention Center!! This is developing right now!!”

On Friday, Neuhaus did express disappointment that ICE allegedly wants to convert a warehouse into a detention center. News12 reported that “the owner of a vacant warehouse formerly used by Pep Boys in the Chester Industrial Park told the county ICE officials have been inquiring about using the warehouse as a detention center for immigrants.”

News12 reported that Neuhaus said he is “disappointed since the county has been hoping the warehouse would become a film studio.” Further, “County Executive Steve Neuhaus said he does not want to deal with clashes between ICE agents and protesters and that he does not want the county to host a facility that might be holding good, innocent people.”

Meanwhile, more leaders with actual arrest warrants have gone uncaptured by United States law enforcement while recently spending New Year’s Eve partying with the U.S. President in Mar-a-Lago in Florida. “International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for two senior Israeli officials, Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, and Yoav Gallant, the former Minister of Defense of Israel, alleging responsibility for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts during the Gaza war,” reads Wikipedia. Netanyahu and his wife were left unbothered at Trump’s Florida residence.

Colombia’s President Petro issued a statement against the kidnapping, while the U.S. president told Colombia’s President to “watch his a**.” President Petro said: “A clan of pedofiles wants to destroy democracy in Colombia." He went onto to talk about the politics of Venezuelan leadership, then said: "Nor would I trick the people of Venezuela into a trap of an invasion that is only about their oil, driven by greed and violence, to turn this beautiful corner of South America into another Syria, another Iraq, another Libya full of slaves, slave trading and new forms of slavery.”

In Shopping News - The Gray Nike Track Suit

Meanwhile, Maduro’s grey Nike track suit he was wearing while captive in transport to New York City is trending. Marca reports that the Nike track suit sold out hours after the kidnapping, but may still be available in stores. Check A Little Beacon Blog’s Shopping Guide for where you can find and buy Nike gear and other name brands in one of the several vintage shops located here on Main Street.

Marca.com calls Stewart airport simply: “a military airport.” Perhaps they know best, and those of us in the Hudson Valley region will never get the true international airport we deserve.