Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro pleaded “not guilty” in federal court on Monday on U.S. drug trafficking charges, days after he and his wife were captured by U.S. forces in a surprise attack on the oil-rich country.
Maduro, dressed in prison garb, entered his plea shortly after 12 p.m. His wife, Cilia Flores, also pleaded not guilty.
“I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country,” Maduro said through an interpreter, before being cut off by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein. Hellerstein ordered Maduro held until a March 17 hearing.
Maduro, his wrists bound by zip-tie restraints, was ferried by helicopter from a federal jail in Brooklyn to Manhattan early Monday, Jan. 5. Flag-waving protesters both opposing and celebrating Maduro’s capture rallied in the cold outside the courthouse, separated by police.
It was a long way from the presidential palace in Caracas, where Maduro was seized by U.S. Delta Force commandos early on Jan. 3.
Maduro and Flores are charged in a four-count indictment linking them to a 25-year narco-terrorism conspiracy. Speaking on Air Force One, President Donald Trump described the case against Maduro as “infallible.” Maduro has long denied involvement in drug trafficking. He’s accused of running a network that partnered with violent groups including Mexico’s Sinaloa and Zetas cartels, Colombian FARC rebels and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang.
One in three Americans approve of the U.S. military strike to remove Maduro from the presidency of Venezuela while 72% of respondents to a Reuters/Ipsos poll worry about becoming too involved in the South American country.
The two-day poll showed 65% of Republicans back the military operation ordered by Republican President Donald Trump, compared with 11% of Democrats and 23% of independents.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll of 1,248 adults was conducted on Jan. 4 and 5.
–Bart Jansen
Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, said at the proceedings that he expects a major legal battle over what he described as Maduro’s “military abduction.” That suggests the defense’s legal fight might not focus exclusively on the charges Maduro faces, but instead could challenge whether he was legally captured and legally brought into court.
Pollack said Maduro isn’t currently asking to be released, but reserves the right to do so down the line.
– Aysha Bagchi and Reuters
When Judge Hellerstein first asked Maduro to identify himself, he stated his name and said: “I am the president of the Republic of Venezuela. I was captured in my home in Venezuela…”
Maduro was given a copy of the indictment Monday morning and waived a formal reading of the document in court, saying he would rather read it personally than have it read to him aloud. Hellerstein then reminded Maduro of his rights to remain silent and to counsel. Maduro said, “I did not know of these rights. Your honor is informing me of them now.”
Then he said, “I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am president of Venezuela.”
Both Maduro and Cilia Flores walked in shortly after the U.S. attorneys sat down. He was flanked on both sides by attorneys, all sharing the same table. While Maduro’s hands were in restraints during his transfer to the courthouse, neither he nor wife were shackled in the courtroom.
Cilia’s lawyer said she had “sustained significant injuries.” Her lawyer motioned to the judge, saying “as you can see.” He said she could have fractures or bruising on her ribs and asked Hellerstein to ensure both Maduro and Cilia receved medical attention. The judge approved it.
Federal prosecutors requested a hearing on March 17. Defense attorney Barry Pollack said there were issues about the legality of Maduro’s military seizure and his position as a foreign leader.
–Kathryn Palmer
Barry Pollack, a defense lawyer for Maduro and his wife, didn’t request bail at the hearing so they could be released pending trial. But Pollack said he might ask for bail later.
–Bart Jansen
Before he was cut off by Judge Hellerstein, Maduro insisted he remains president of Venezuela, despite his detention and criminal charges in the United States.
“I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country,” Maduro said through an interpreter.
Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, insisted after Maduro’s capture that he remained the country’s leader. Rodríguez holds the title of ‘acting president.”
Maduro made his first appearance in federal court in New York on Jan. 5 to face charges of narco-terrorism and cocaine importation conspiracy.
He is expected to enter a plea during the Manhattan appearance before U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein.
–Bart Jansen
Criminal defense lawyer Barry Pollack is representing deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in his federal criminal trial in New York, court documents show.
Pollack negotiated a plea agreement that “resulted in the immediate release from prison of long-time client Julian Assange,” the publisher of website WikiLeaks, according to Pollack’s bio on the website of his law firm. Assange had been charged with violating the Espionage Act for publishing classified information leaked by Chelsea Manning.
Pollack also “obtained the complete acquittal of a former Enron Corp. executive on criminal fraud charges,” his bio said. It said that was “one of only two cases that resulted in acquittals in the numerous prosecutions arising out of the collapse of Enron.” USA TODAY has reached out to Pollack and his law firm for comment.
Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores and others are charged in an allege narco-terrorist conspiracy.
–Josh Meyer
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations defended the recent military action in Venezuela, calling Maduro a “illegitimate” leader and rejecting claims the move could destabilize the region.
Michael Waltz, who spoke at an emergency Security Council meeting, described the mission as a “surgical law enforcement operation” and said it will not result in a prolonged occupation.
“There is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying its country,” he said. “This was a law enforcement operation in furtherance of lawful indictments.”
Waltz’s comments come after Trump said the U.S. was “in charge” of Venezuela and threatened a “second strike” if the government does not cooperate.
–Chris Cann
Maduro’s arraignment won’t be televised because the federal trial court for the Southern District of New York doesn’t permit cameras to stream proceedings outside the courthouse walls. U.S. federal courts don’t allow photography, video or audio recording in the courtrooms.
Reporters and members of the public must observe the proceedings in the courtroom itself or potentially in an overflow room within the courthouse that will show a livestream of what’s happening in the main courtroom.
– Aysha Bagchi
Flores is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician. Since 2015, she has served as a deputy in the National Assembly of Venezuela, of which she was president from 2006 to 2011, for her home state of Cojedes. She also previously served as Venezuela’s attorney general from 2012 to 2013.
During her legal career, Flores gained a reputation as a tough attorney, particularly after she led the defense team of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and helped secure his release from prison in 1994, following an unsuccessful coup in 1992, according to Reuters.
Flores became Venezuela’s first lady when Maduro won the 2013 presidential election over Henrique Capriles.
“She has a fiery character. What you saw of her in parliament, that’s exactly what she is like at home,” Maduro said of his wife during that campaign.
–Jonathan Limehouse
The Cuban government said Jan. 4 that 32 of its citizens were killed during the U.S. raid to capture Maduro.
Those killed were all members of Cuba’s armed forces and intelligence agencies, according to Havana. The country is holding two days of mourning for those killed.
Trump acknowledged to reporters Jan. 4 an unspecified number of Cuban deaths and said the island country will no longer enjoy the financial support of Venezuela.
“A lot of Cubans were killed,” Trump said, “trying to protect” Maduro.
–Bart Jansen
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said he is “deeply concerned” about the U.S. strike on Venezuela and the country’s future.
Guterres’ statement was read at the start of an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Monday. Guterres said it appeared the “rules of international law have not been respected,” and that he feared “instability in the region” after Maduro’s capture.
–Chris Cann
Outside the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan, members of the NYPD are keeping pro-Maduro protesters apart from those opposing the US raid on Venezuela. The opposing camps are separated by police barricades.
–Seth Harrison
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum repeated Mexico’s opposition to Washington’s arrest of Maduro, and to any kind of intervention in Mexico.
“We categorically reject intervention in the internal matters of other countries,” Sheinbaum said.
The Mexican leader said Mexico is a sovereign country and is cooperating with the U.S. on drug trafficking and security, after Donald Trump hinted at military action in Mexico to combat drug cartels.
Trump has long suggested military action might be necessary to combat drug cartels operating in Mexico, and over the weekend told reporters that the U.S. would “have to do something” in Mexico about drugs.
“I don’t believe in an invasion; I don’t even think it’s something they’re taking very seriously,” Sheinbaum said. “On several occasions, he has insisted that the U.S. Army be allowed to enter Mexico. We have said no very firmly − first because we defend our sovereignty, and second because it is not necessary.”
–Reuters
The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday focused on the U.S. military operation in Venezuela.
The meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. local time, was requested by Colombia and was backed by Russia and China, Reuters reported.
The 15-member council has met several times in recent months to discuss the escalating tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela. Monday’s meeting on “threats to international peace and security” will feature a statement from U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, according to a public schedule.
–Chris Cann
Maduro is currently being held in a Brooklyn jail where some of the world’s best-known defendants have been detained.
Maduro is behind bars at New York’s Metropolitan Detention Center ahead of his appearance in Manhattan federal court. The Brooklyn jail was once home to Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell and embattled music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is serving a prison sentence at Fort Dix in New Jersey.
Luigi Mangione, accused in the fatal December 2024 shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is currently housed at the MDC awaiting trial. Convicted fraudster and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was also once housed in the facility but has since been moved to a prison on Terminal Island in Los Angeles.
Other former detainees include rappers 6ix9ine and Fetty Wap as well as “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli, who was convicted in 2017 of securities fraud. Shkreli had his bail revoked and was sent to the Brooklyn facility after he allegedly made a threat to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, face a four-count indictment alleging they were at the center of a 25-year international narco-terrorism conspiracy.
–Jay Stahl
Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, said capturing Maduro was important, but ousting his entire regime will be more difficult.
Bolton, who has become a frequent Trump critic since serving in his first administration, said Venezuela’s alleged drug-smuggling regime has been in place for decades, since Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez. U.S. rivals such as Russia, China and Iran are Venezuela’s allies and wouldn’t walk away easily, Bolton said.
“Let’s be clear, there’s a big difference between getting Maduro and removing the regime,” Bolton told News Nation. “It would be a hollow victory indeed if we snatched Maduro but left his regime in place.”
– Bart Jansen
After Maduro is arraigned on charges of narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiration and weapons counts, his defense lawyers could raise complex legal issues before reaching what Trump acknowledged could be a “slog” of a trial.
Maduro’s lawyers are expected to challenge the court’s jurisdiction over his case by arguing the military attack on Venezuela violated international law, according to Jimmy Gurulé, a former prosecutor who is now a law professor at Notre Dame.
The lawyers could also argue that he deserved immunity as a head of state, Gurulé said. The defense is also expected to make a broad request for evidence in the case, which could include classified information that the U.S. government could refuse to disclose.
“While justice will ultimately be served in the Maduro case, it won’t be anytime soon,” Gurulé said of a trial that might not start until 2027. “The list of pretrial issues goes on and on. Of course, the trial judge’s rulings on these pretrial motions will be appealed by the losing party.”
– Bart Jansen
Maduro arrived at a federal courthouse in Manhattan on Monday for an arraignment on federal narco-terrorism charges.
Maduro was transported by helicopter to downtown Manhattan, where he will make his first appearance. The former president was being held at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Denmark’s prime minister urged the White House to “stop the threats” about taking over Greenland, after President Donald Trump reiterated his wish to do so in a weekend interview with The Atlantic magazine.
Mette Frederiksen said on Jan. 4 that it “makes absolutely no sense to talk about the U.S. needing to take over Greenland. The U.S. has no right to annex any of the three countries in the Danish Kingdom.”
His comments came after Trump told The Atlantic, “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense.”
– Kim Hjelmgaard
While speaking to reporters on Sunday night, Trump reiterated that the U.S. is “in charge” of Venezuela. The president added that his administration is “dealing with the people that just got sworn in,” in an apparent reference to Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who has been named as acting president.
Trump told reporters that he has not spoken to Rodríguez yet, but others have, adding that he will speak to her “at the right time.” He later said the U.S. did not give anything to Rodríguez in exchange for cooperating but noted “she’s cooperating.”
Rodríguez previously rejected Trump’s claims that she was willing to work with his administration, but adopted a softer tone in a statement on Sunday night. She called for a “balanced and respectful” relationship with the United States, adding that relations between the two countries should be based on “sovereign equality and non-interference.”
“We invite the U.S. government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” Rodríguez said in a statement on Telegram.
Earlier that day, Trump had issued a warning against Rodríguez. “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump told The Atlantic.
When asked if he would demand free and fair elections in Venezuela, Trump said, “it depends.” Before elections can take place in the country, he said Venezuela needs to be “fixed.”
“We’re looking more at getting it fixed, getting it ready first, because it’s a mess. The country is a mess,” he said.
Trump also called on Rodríguez to provide the United States with “total access” to Venezuela’s resources. He noted that oil companies wanted to enter Venezuela and repair the country’s oil infrastructure.
Venezuela is recognized as having the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Trump has said U.S. oil companies could start investing again in the region, a practice halted when Maduro’s predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, expropriated the assets of foreign oil companies.
In his comments on board Air Force One, Trump called Venezuela “very sick” and said the U.S. might launch a second military strike on the country if remaining members of Maduro’s administration do not cooperate with his efforts to get the country “fixed.”
His comments also raised the possibility of further U.S. military interventions in Latin America. Trump suggested that Colombia and Mexico could also face military action if they do not reduce the flow of illicit drugs to the U.S.
“Colombia is very sick, too, run by a sick man, who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, in an apparent reference to Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro.
He also said that Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela, “looks like it’s ready to fall” on its own without U.S. military action. According to Trump, “a lot of Cubans were killed” during the operation to capture Maduro on Saturday.
Venezuela’s Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino said on state television the U.S. attack killed soldiers, civilians and a “large part” of Maduro’s security detail “in cold blood.” The Cuban government said 32 of its citizens were killed during the raid.
Some homes in the town of Catia La Mar near Venezuela’s capital Caracas were damaged or destroyed in the U.S. military operation, residents told Reuters on Jan. 4.
Jonatan Mallora, a 50-year-old motorcycle taxi driver, and his neighbor Angel Alvarez, a young street vendor, said they woke on Jan. 3 to explosions in their community in La Guaira state, about 19 miles north of Caracas.
“It’s sheer luck they didn’t kill my kids,” Mallora said amid the rubble of his apartment, where the roof was destroyed. He said he fled and escaped unharmed along with his 24-year-old daughter and 22-year-old son.
“I would never wish on anyone” the experience of an attack, he added. “We’re alive by a miracle.”
Venezuelan authorities have said the U.S. hit areas in La Guaira, Caracas and the neighboring states of Miranda and Aragua and that soldiers, civilians and much of Maduro’s security team were killed, though they have not offered specific figures on dead and injured.
− Reuters
The Trump administration’s capture of Maduro bore some familiar echoes to the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama that ousted military strongman Manuel Noriega, marking the most direct U.S. intervention in Latin America since.
But experts say that despite some similarities, the two key moments in America’s long and checkered history of interventions differ in major ways that could make achieving U.S. goals more challenging this time, following a raid that has revived regional anxiety.
“This is not going to be so simple in Venezuela,” said Will Freeman, a Latin America fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “One, it’s not even likely that we get to democracy. And two, many of the problems that were there with Maduro are going to remain.” Read more here.
− Chris Kenning
The capture of Maduro and his wife during a nighttime raid by U.S. troops on his compound in Caracas marked the realization of a longtime political goal for Trump. But it was a personal victory for a key member of Trump’s administration: Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“Nicolás Maduro had multiple opportunities to avoid this,” Rubio said, standing alongside Trump at a post-raid news conference at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. “He was provided multiple, very, very, very generous offers, and chose instead to act like a wild man, chose to play around. And the result is what we saw tonight.”
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, has been one of the primary architects of the Trump administration’s Venezuela policy, which shifted the United States away from decades-long diplomatic negotiations on human rights and other issues to the use of military force to remove a de facto leader from office. Read more here.
− Francesca Chambers and Michael Collins
Contributing: Reuters