Captured Venezuela Prez Maduro pleads not guilty, calls US arrest ‘kidnapping’

New York, Jan 6: Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has pleaded "not guilty" in a Manhattan federal court to sweeping drug trafficking charges, declaring that he had been unlawfully “captured”, insisting he remains “the president of my country.”

Appearing for the first time since his capture in Caracas on January 3, Maduro repeatedly protested the circumstances of his detention, telling the court through a Spanish interpreter that he had been “kidnapped” from his home.

His remarks were briefly cut short by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who said there would be an appropriate time for such arguments and confirmed Maduro’s identity before proceeding.

Escorted under heavy guard, Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were brought to court from a Brooklyn detention facility, where they have been held since arriving in the United States over the weekend.

Both wore headsets to follow the English-language proceedings via translation. Flores also pleaded not guilty, with her lawyer saying she sustained significant injuries during the operation that led to their capture.

Prosecutors have filed a 25-page indictment accusing Maduro and associates of collaborating with drug cartels to ship thousands of tonnes of cocaine into the United States.

The charges allege that Maduro and Flores ordered kidnappings, beatings and murders to protect their trafficking network. If convicted, the defendants could face life sentences.

Maduro’s legal team is expected to challenge the case on jurisdictional grounds, arguing that he is immune from prosecution as the sitting head of a sovereign state and that his arrest constituted an unlawful military abduction.

Maduro’s appearance marks the opening of what US officials describe as one of the most consequential prosecutions of a foreign head of state in decades.

The case unfolds amid a broader diplomatic confrontation following the Trump administration’s assertion that Maduro’s removal would allow Washington to help “run” Venezuela, a claim earlier made by Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, Delcy Rodriguez, who served as vice president to Nicolas Maduro and has vowed to work with the Trump administration, was sworn in as interim president of Venezuela in the country's parliament building.

Rodriguez was sworn in by her brother, National Assembly leader Jorge Rodriguez.

"I come with sorrow for the suffering inflicted upon the Venezuelan people following an illegitimate military aggression against our homeland," she said with her right hand up. "I come with sorrow for the kidnapping of two heroes."political tensions escalated in Caracas.

Maduro’s son, lawmaker Nicolás Maduro Guerra, warned that the arrest could set a dangerous global precedent.

“If we normalise the kidnapping of a head of state, no country is safe,” he said, calling the incident a threat to international political stability.

PTI