Former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty Monday to federal drug trafficking, weapons, and narco-terrorism charges during their first appearance in a Manhattan federal courtroom, days after being seized by U.S. forces and flown to New York. Outside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, groups of protesters gathered, with some calling for Maduro’s release and others backing the U.S. operation that led to his arrest.
Maduro and Flores appeared before U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in lower Manhattan and remain detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Their next court date is scheduled for March 17. Neither Maduro nor Flores sought bail, though the judge said he would consider an application at a later stage.
Maduro, appearing in shackles and orange jail slippers, told the court through an interpreter, “I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country.” Maduro also said, “I am the president of Venezuela,” and said he was captured at his home in Caracas before the judge cut him off, noting there would be time later to challenge the legality of his detention. Maduro’s attorney, Barry Pollack, said the defense intends to raise questions about the operation that led to his client’s arrest, citing “issues about the legality of his military abduction,” and signaled a potential argument that Maduro is entitled to immunity as a head of state. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate president.
Seated beside her lawyer Mark Donnelly, Flores identified herself, stating: “I am Cilia Flores. I am first lady of the Republic of Venezuela,” before the judge reminded her the hearing was limited to identity and rights. When asked how she pleaded to the charges, she responded, “Not guilty — completely innocent.” Donnelly told the court that Flores was injured during the military operation that led to their capture, saying she suffered “significant injuries” and may have fractured ribs or severe bruising. A visible bruise was seen on her head. The judge said both defendants would receive medical care.
Both defendants wore headphones to follow the proceedings through a court interpreter. Maduro took notes throughout the hearing and asked the judge for permission to keep them. At the end of the session, Judge Hellerstein advised the pair of their right to contact Venezuelan consular officials, which Maduro said they wished to do. As Maduro was escorted out of the courtroom, a person in the gallery shouted in Spanish, “You will pay in the name of Venezuela.” Maduro replied, also in Spanish, “I am the elected president. I am a prisoner of war. I will be free.”
Maduro and Flores are among six defendants, which include Maduro’s son and senior Venezuelan officials, named in a four-count superseding indictment unsealed Saturday. Prosecutors allege Maduro led a 25-year conspiracy involving violent drug traffickers, including members of the Tren de Aragua gang, using state power to facilitate cocaine shipments into the United States. The indictment states “this cycle of narcotics-based corruption lines the pockets of Venezuelan officials and their families while also benefiting narco-terrorists who operate with impunity on Venezuelan soil and who help produce, protect and transport tons of cocaine to the United States.”
President Donald Trump said over the weekend that the U.S. “successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela” in which Maduro and Flores were “captured and flown out of the Country.” Trump said the operation was conducted alongside U.S. law enforcement, with military support that included elite forces. Trump has since said the U.S. is “in charge” of Venezuela for an unspecified period. In Venezuela, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as interim leader following what the country’s Supreme Court called Maduro’s “kidnapping.” Rodríguez initially demanded Maduro’s return, then later called for cooperation with Washington “within the framework of international law.”
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