Abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro told a packed New York City courtroom on Monday that he was “innocent”, a “decent man”, and that he had been “kidnapped”, in his first public comments since the brazen US attack on his country on Saturday. Maduro, who was abducted along with his wife by US special forces from his home in Caracas in an operation widely condemned as illegal under international law, appeared in federal court for a hearing on alleged “narcoterrorism” and other charges. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were brought before US District Judge Alvin K Hellerstein at 12pm (17:00 GMT) on Monday for a brief proceeding that kicks off a long legal battle over whether they can face trial in the US.
Handcuffed and wearing blue jail uniforms, Maduro and his wife were led into the court by officers, and both put on headsets to hear the English-language proceeding as it was translated into Spanish. Maduro pleaded not guilty, telling the judge, “I was kidnapped. I am innocent and a decent man, the president of my country.” Across the street from the court, the police separated a small but growing group of protesters from about a dozen pro-intervention demonstrators, including one man who pulled a Venezuelan flag away from those protesting against the US abduction.
The left-wing leader, his wife, son and three others could face life in prison if convicted of working with drug cartels to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tonnes of cocaine into the country. Some observers say there is no evidence linking Maduro to cartels. Maduro’s lawyers said they will contest the legality of his arrest, arguing he is immune from prosecution as a sovereign head of a foreign state, though he is not recognised as Venezuela’s legitimate leader by the US and other nations.
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Flores also pleaded not guilty to US charges against her during the arraignment. Hellerstein ordered the Venezuelan leader to appear in court for a hearing on March 17. Near the end of the hearing, Maduro’s lawyer, Barry J Pollack, said his client “is head of a sovereign state and entitled to the privilege” that the status ensures.
Pollack said there were “questions about the legality of his military abduction”, and there will be “voluminous” pretrial filings to address those legal challenges. Earlier, images showed the pair being led handcuffed and under heavy guard from a helicopter en route from a detention facility to the court, two days after they were forcibly removed from Caracas in a brazen US special forces operation.
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