The former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores appeared on Monday before the federal court in Manhattan, New York State, in their first hearing following their abduction on Saturday from the capital, Caracas.
The New York Times reported that Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty to charges related to narcotics-linked terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States.
Maduro opened the session with a clear tone of defiance before federal judge Alvin Hellerstein, stating through an interpreter: “I am an honourable man, and I am still the president of my country.” He described his arrest by American forces in Caracas as an act of “kidnapping,” declaring himself a “prisoner of war” as he was escorted out of the courtroom.
Maduro appeared wearing a navy shirt over orange prison clothing, with grey hair clearly visible. His wife, Cilia Flores, appeared with a bandage on her forehead and bruising around her right eye, and seemed so weak that she leaned on a security officer while standing.
Attorney Barry Pollack, the former lawyer of Julian Assange, stated that there are serious doubts regarding the “legality of the military abduction” of his client, noting that Maduro enjoys immunity as the head of a sovereign state.
The defence team also raised concerns about Maduro’s health condition and the “more serious” injuries suffered by his wife, which require immediate medical care, without providing details of the injuries.
Judge Hellerstein then read the indictment, which included four main charges against Maduro, among them conspiracy with Colombia’s FARC groups to flood the United States with cocaine.
Maduro responded by saying, “This is the first time I see this document with my own hands,” demanding to read it himself rather than merely hearing it read aloud by the judge.
Judge Hellerstein set 17 March as the date for the next hearing, with the defendants to remain in custody without bail at the federal detention centre in Brooklyn.
While Maduro was in court, his son Nicolás Maduro Guerra delivered a fiery speech at the National Assembly in Caracas, describing what occurred as a “dangerous imperialist relapse” and calling on the peoples of the world to show solidarity.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump confirmed that the United States has now become “responsible” for Venezuela, hinting at the possibility of taking similar actions against other countries such as Colombia and Mexico. This triggered mixed international reactions, as the Colombian president warned of a “dawn of popular anger” should his country’s sovereignty be violated.
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