Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has pleaded not guilty to charges he’s facing in a New York City courtroom.
He made his first appearance in an American courtroom on the narco-terrorism charges that the Trump administration used to justify capturing him and bringing him to New York.
Maduro, wearing a blue jail uniform, and his wife were led into court at around noon for a brief, but required, legal proceeding that will likely kick off a prolonged legal fight over whether he can be put on trial in the US.
Both put on headsets to hear the English-language proceedings as they were translated into Spanish.
When asked how he pleaded, Maduro replied: ‘I am innocent. I am a decent man. I am President…’
His defence lawyer clarified: ‘It is a plea of not guilty to all counts.’
He’s since been held in custody until his trial.
When asked if he had read the indictment, Maduro said he had seen it but hadn’t read it.
He added: ‘I am innocent. I am not guilty of anything that is mentioned here.’
Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on ‘narco-terrorism’ conspiracy charges.
Narco-terrorism is defined as the involvement of terrorist organisations and insurgent groups in drug trafficking by the Office of Justice.
The Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, accusing them of a role in narco-terrorism conspiracy.
As a criminal defendant in the US legal system, Maduro will have the same rights as any other person accused of a crime – including the right to a trial by a jury of regular New Yorkers.
Maduro’s lawyers are expected to contest the legality of his arrest, arguing that he is immune from prosecution as a sovereign head of state.
How was Maduro captured?
Maduro and his wife were in their home at the Fort Tiuana military installation in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, ruling party leader Nahum Fernandez said.
He has accused Trump of ‘kidnapping’ Venezuela’s leader and first lady and said: ‘That’s where they bombed. And, there, they carried out what we could call a kidnapping of the president and the first lady of the country.’
Trump confirmed the Venezuelan leader and his wife were flown out of the country, which the US president added ‘was done in conjunction with US Law Enforcement’.
The operation was carried out by the US military’s elite special forces known as Delta Force, which has previously carried out some top-secret operations.
