Escorted by U.S. Marshals, Maduro acknowledged reporters and onlookers in the gallery with a New Year’s greeting in Spanish as he entered the courtroom, according to Fox News.
The hearing was briefly interrupted when Maduro asserted that he had been “kidnapped,” a claim the presiding judge promptly shut down.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein asked the defendant to state his full legal name for the record.
Speaking through an interpreter, Maduro responded, "I am Nicolas Maduro Moros," before continuing, "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."
Hellerstein interrupted, Fox News revelaed, telling Maduro that the courtroom was not the appropriate forum to challenge the circumstances of his arrest.
A short time later, the judge instructed 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 judge.
Defense attorney Barry Pollack then stated that Maduro was entering a plea of not guilty on all four charges.
On the evening of January 3rd, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center, with the now-former Venezuelan dictator facing charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, various weapons charges and possession of destructive devices against the United States. Flores and Maduro’s 35-year-old son are also named as defendants in the case.In the wake of the operation apprehending Maduro and his wife, President Donald Trump shared a photo of Maduro as he stood bound and blindfolded inside of the USS Iwo Jima, although Fox News reports there were no clear images taken of the detainees after they touched down at Stewart Air National Guard Base.
Maduro’s capture, which was part of an operation dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve,” was reportedly months in the making while the military were carrying out targeted strikes on suspected drug vessels allegedly linked to Maduro’s regime. In a press conference following the operation, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine detailed the “sheer complexity” of the endeavor, emphasizing the numerous moving parts that commanded zero error.
“The word ‘integration’ does not explain the sheer complexity of such a mission,” General Caine stated, adding, “An extraction so precise it involved more than 150 aircraft launching across the Western Hemisphere in close coordination, all coming together in time and place to layer effects for a single purpose, to get an interdiction force into downtown Caracas while maintaining the element of tactical surprise. Failure of one component of this well-oiled machine would have endangered the entire mission.”
In response to the capture of Maduro and his wife, the Venezuelan government has claimed that the aforementioned operation was merely a means to take over the country’s oil supply and an “attempt to impose a colonial war to destroy the republican form of government and force a ‘regime change,’ in alliance with the fascist oligarchy.”
President Trump has confirmed that U.S. forces remain on the ground in Venezuela and that a “second and much larger attack” could be in play if the intended plans for the country face adversity from the remnants of Maduro’s loyalists.
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