Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were taken to court in lower Manhattan on Monday morning. When they appeared in court shortly after 6 p.m. local time in Sweden, Maduro said in Spanish:
I am the President of Venezuela. I was kidnapped in my home in Caracas, Venezuela.
Wearing a blue shirt, beige pants, orange slippers and ankle cuffs, Maduro listened to Judge Alvin Hellerstein through an interpreter. When charged with what the U.S. calls "narco-terrorism," he maintained his innocence.
I am a decent man. I am still the president of my country.
Cilia Flores also pleaded not guilty.
New court date March 17
Both Maduro and Flores have requested consular assistance, but according to American media, Maduro's lawyer Barry Pollack said the couple has not requested to be released on bail pending the next court hearing, scheduled for March 17.
When the entire procedure was over, after just over half an hour, Maduro gathered some papers before looking around the courtroom. According to the BBC, he was heckled in Spanish by an audience member, who shouted that he was a "prisoner of war."
Maduro was then escorted out of the courtroom to be taken back to the Brooklyn detention center.
The indictment against Maduro is, according to American media, 25 pages long but can be summarized by the charges presented by Attorney General Pam Bondi on Sunday - what the U.S. calls "narcoterrorism," drug trafficking and various weapons crimes directed against the United States.
Heavy security presence
Hundreds of protesters had already gathered outside the courthouse and slogans both for and against Maduro were heard.
"Thank you President Trump. This is like a dream come true," protester Carmen told NBC.
Across the street, others chanted that the U.S. must leave Venezuela and release Maduro.
The couple were taken to court early in the morning under heavy security. They were driven in a heavily armored vehicle, surrounded by police cars with flashing sirens, from the Brooklyn jail to a helicopter that took them to Manhattan.
Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, were captured by U.S. forces in the Venezuelan capital Caracas early Saturday morning. They were taken by amphibious ship to Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, where the FBI and a plane were waiting for the onward journey to New York.
