Maduro pleads not guilty to US drug charges, calls his capture an abduction

Nicolás Maduro appeared in a Manhattan federal courtroom Monday and pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges, declaring himself a “kidnapped president” and demanding to be returned to Venezuela. The deposed leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized from their Caracas home in a middle-of-the-night military operation Saturday and flown to New York under heavy security. Their court appearance marks what federal prosecutors say is the most consequential U.S. prosecution of a foreign head of state in decades.

The criminal case unfolds against the backdrop of a U.S.-engineered regime change in Venezuela, with President Donald Trump asserting that his administration will “run” the South American country. A 25-page indictment alleges Maduro worked with drug cartels to ship thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States and ordered kidnappings, beatings, and murders of those who owed him drug money.

In court

Maduro, 63, was brought to Manhattan under heavy security — flown by helicopter from Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where he is jailed, then driven to the courthouse in an armored vehicle. He and Flores appeared just before noon, both in leg shackles and jail-issued clothing, with headsets to hear proceedings translated into Spanish.

Standing and leaning toward a tabletop microphone, Maduro repeatedly pressed his case that he had been unlawfully seized. “I am here kidnapped since Jan. 3, Saturday,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “I was captured at my home in Caracas.”

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, 92, appointed to the federal bench in 1998 by President Bill Clinton, cut him off. “There will be a time and place to go into all of this,” Hellerstein said, directing Maduro’s attorney to raise those arguments later. Asked for his plea, Maduro responded: “I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.”

Flores, who identified herself to the judge as “first lady of the Republic of Venezuela,” appeared with bandages on her forehead and right temple. Her attorney, Mark Donnelly, said she suffered “significant injuries” during her capture. She also pleaded not guilty.

As Maduro was led from the courtroom, a man in the audience — Pedro Rojas, 33, who said he had been imprisoned by the Venezuelan regime — stood and denounced him in Spanish. Maduro shot back: “I am a kidnapped president. I am a prisoner of war.”

The charges and the defense

The 25-page indictment alleges Maduro and others worked with drug cartels to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States. It also alleges that Maduro and Flores ordered the killing of a local drug boss in Caracas and directed other kidnappings, beatings, and murders of those who owed them drug money or undermined their alleged trafficking operation. Maduro and those convicted with him could face life in prison.

His attorney, Barry Pollack — a prominent Washington lawyer whose past clients have included WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange — said he expects to contest the legality of what he called a “military abduction.” Pollack argued that Maduro “is head of a sovereign state and is entitled to the privileges and immunities that go with that office.”

That defense faces significant legal obstacles. Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega unsuccessfully attempted the same immunity argument after the U.S. seized him in a 1990 military invasion. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state, a position it has held since disputing his 2024 reelection.

Trump and the question of governance

Trump said Saturday the U.S. would “run” Venezuela temporarily and repeated Sunday night that “we’re in charge.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a more measured framing, telling Sunday morning news programs that the U.S. would not govern the country day-to-day, other than enforcing an existing oil quarantine.

Before his capture, Maduro and his allies argued that U.S. hostility was driven by interest in Venezuela’s oil and mineral resources. Uncertainties remain about how quickly oil production can be increased in Venezuela after years of neglect, as well as questions about governance and oversight of the sector.

Venezuela’s new leadership and international reaction

Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim leader Monday by her brother, National Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez. “I come with sorrow for the suffering inflicted upon the Venezuelan people following an illegitimate military aggression against our homeland,” she said. She initially demanded Maduro’s return but struck a more conciliatory tone Sunday, inviting collaboration with Trump and “respectful relations” with the U.S.

Maduro’s son, Venezuelan congressman Nicolás Maduro Guerra, warned that the capture could set a dangerous precedent. “If we normalize the kidnapping of a head of state, no country is safe. Today it’s Venezuela. Tomorrow it could be any nation that refuses to submit,” he said.

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting Monday. The top UN official warned, according to the Associated Press, that the United States may have violated international law with its unilateral military action. The world body also highlighted the ongoing humanitarian needs of a Venezuelan population that has endured a prolonged economic crisis.