Deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has pleaded not guilty to federal criminal charges, including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking, during his first appearance in a New York federal court on Monday.
Maduro, 63, appeared in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan less than a week after U.S. forces captured him in a high-profile raid in Caracas.
Speaking through an interpreter, he denied the charges and insisted he remains the legitimate president of Venezuela.
“I’m innocent. I am not guilty,” Maduro told the judge, rejecting the government’s allegations that he directed a long-running cocaine trafficking network and related offenses.
His wife, Cilia Flores, who was also taken into U.S. custody, similarly entered a not-guilty plea.
Both defendants listened to the court proceedings using Spanish translation headsets.
The charges against Maduro encompass narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy, and firearms offenses. Prosecutors have accused him and co-conspirators of trafficking significant quantities of cocaine into the United States.
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Maduro’s defense is expected to challenge the legality of his capture and assert sovereign immunity as a former head of state.
The judge set the next court date for March 17, when further proceedings are expected to address legal motions and pretrial matters.
The unprecedented case marks a major escalation in U.S.–Venezuela tensions and raises complex legal and diplomatic questions, drawing international attention to both the charges and the extraordinary circumstances of Maduro’s removal and transfer to the United States.
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