‘I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man.
I am still president of my country,’ Maduro said through an interpreter, before being cut off by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein. Toppled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of narco-terrorism after US President Donald Trump’s stunning capture of him rattled world leaders and left officials in Caracas scrambling to respond. Maduro (63) pleaded not guilty in a New York City federal court to four criminal counts that include narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.
Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, also pleaded not guilty. The next court date was set for 17 March. Dozens of protesters, both pro- and anti-Maduro, gathered outside the courthouse before the half-hour hearing.
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Maduro is accused of overseeing a cocaine-trafficking network that partnered with violent groups including Mexico’s Sinaloa and Zetas cartels, Colombian Farc rebels and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang. Maduro has long denied the allegations, saying they were a mask for imperialist designs on Venezuela’s rich oil reserves. While world leaders and US politicians grappled with the extraordinary seizure of a head of state, anemergency orderin Venezuela, published in full on Monday, ordered police to search and capture anyone who supported Saturday’s US attack.
Also on Monday, the UN Security Council debated the implications of the raid, which was condemned by Russia, China and leftist allies of Venezuela. UN Chief António Guterres raised concerns about instability in Venezuela and the legality of Trump’s strike, the most dramatic US intervention in Latin America since the 1989 Panama invasion. US Special Forces swooped into Caracas by helicopter on Saturday, shattered Maduro’s security cordon and dragged him from the threshold of a safe room.
On Monday morning, Maduro — his hands zip-tied — and his wife Cilia Flores were escorted by armed guards in tactical gear from a Brooklyn detention centre to a helicopter bound for the Manhattan federal court. Maduro, in orange and beige prison garb, listened on headphones through an interpreter.
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