Nicolas Maduro, the dethroned Venezuelan dictator indicted on major drug trafficking and weapons charges in the United States, arrived in a federal court in New York at noon Monday for his arraignment, days after American forces captured him in his own presidential palace.
As U.S. Marshals escorted him into the courtroom, he greeted members of the press and the public in the gallery by saying “Happy New Year” in Spanish.
Minutes into the proceeding, the judge cut him off when he claimed he had been “kidnapped.”
Judge Alvin Hellerstein had asked him to confirm his full name.
“I am Nicolas Maduro Moros,” the defendant replied, through a translator. “My name is President Nicolas Maduro Moros, President of Venezuela. I am here, kidnapped, and I am here since January 3rd, Saturday. I was captured at my home in Caracas, Venezuela.”
The judge cut him off and said the hearing was not the proper time for Maduro to protest his arrest.
Moments later, the judge asked him to enter a plea.
“I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country,” Maduro told the court.
His defense lawyer, Barry Pollack, added that Maduro was pleading not guilty to all four counts.
Pollack later described Maduro’s arrest as “an abduction” and said he expected to file extensive motions as the case plays out.
On his way out of the courtroom, a protester said something to Maduro in Spanish, prompting a reply in the same language, claiming he is a “kidnapped president” as well as a “prisoner of war.”
The protester, who identified himself as 33-year-old Pedro Rojas, told reporters he had been a prisoner in Venezuela under Maduro’s regime for four months.
The defendant appeared in tan jail clothes, orange shoes and a black T-shirt. He sat next to New York-based defense attorney Barry Pollack and took notes throughout the roughly 30-minute hearing.
Maduro waived an official reading of his four charges: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
He told the judge he would read them himself. The judge read him his rights and asked for a plea. Maduro pleaded not guilty.
Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, was arrested in the raid and also appeared in court. Like her husband, she was a high-level official in Venezuela’s socialist regime.
She pleaded not guilty, about 10 minutes after her husband.
When the judge told them they have the right to speak with officials from the Venezuelan consulate, both defendants requested to do so.
“For over 25 years, leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States,” federal prosecutors wrote in a superseding indictment unveiled over the weekend.
Flores faces three: cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
“Not guilty, completely innocent,” she told the court.
The couple waived their right to a speedy trial until their next court date, expecting a large amount of discovery.
Neither defendant asked the judge to set bail. Both of their attorneys said they reserved the right to do so in the future.
Bail is highly unlikely, according to legal experts.
“I think I have a better chance of winning the next Power Ball,” David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area defense attorney, told Fox News Digital. “When [former Panama dictator Manuel] Noriega was arraigned, he didn’t get bail.”
Noriega was similarly deposed by U.S. forces in 1989 on racketeering and drug trafficking charges.
Maduro is being held in the same federal jail in Brooklyn as accused assassin Luigi Mangione.
“Years ago, he was indicted in U.S. federal court for narco-terrorism,” said Royal Oakes, a Los Angeles-based lawyer and legal analyst.
Federal prosecutors secured a grand jury indictment in 2020. More recently, the government placed a $50 million bounty on his head as President Donald Trump urged him to step down.
The selection of New York’s Southern District Court to handle the case could have a significant impact on how it plays out, Oakes said.
New Yorkers just elected an openly socialist mayor, but he said the success of Maduro’s capture without any American casualties could also play a role.
“The outcome of the mission could also shape public opinion and thus a jury verdict,” Oakes said.
Maduro and Cilia are due back in court on March 17 at 11 a.m. ET.
Source: Fox News
