‘I was kidnapped, still president of Venezuela’: Nicolas Maduro pleads not guilty in US court | World News

Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrives at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport, as he heads towards the Daniel Patrick Manhattan United States Courthouse. (Reuters photo)

Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro declared himself an “innocent” and “decent” man as he pleaded not guilty to all the four charges pressed against him US President Donald Trump’s adminration during a hearing in New York on Monday.

In a packed courtroom, Maduro told US Drict Judge Alvin Hellerstein, “I’m innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country.”

Maduro made his first appearance in the US courtroom on Monday after he was levelled with narco-terrorism charges the Trump adminration, which also used it to justify the Venezuelan leader’s dramatic capture from Caracas on Saturday after US military’s operation in the country.

Maduro, who was wearing a blue jail uniform, was brought to court along with his wife Cilia Flores during noon for a brief but mandatory court proceedings which has kicked off a long legal battle over whether the deposed leader can be put to trial in the US. The next court hearing in Maduro’s case has been scheduled for March 17.

Flores, along with Maduro, also pleaded not guilty to all the charges pressed the federal government. Maduro, in Spanish, told the judge, “I was captured at my home in Caracas, Venezuela.” The four criminal charges include narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.Story continues below this ad

Before the 40-minute hearing began on Monday, dozens of protesters, both pro- and anti-Maduro, gathered outside the court house in New York.

The Trump adminration has accused Maduro of overseeing a cocaine trafficking network which partnered with violent groups, including Mexico’s Sinaloa cartels, Colombian FARC rebels and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang.

Maduro has denied all the allegations and said that they were a mask for imperial designs on Venezuela’s rich oil reserves.

Maduro’s lawyers are poised to challenge the legality of his arrest, however, the Venezuelan leader will have similar rights as any other criminal defendant in the US legal system.

(with inputs from AP)