NEW YORK — Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro declared himself “the president of my country” as he protested his capture and pleaded not guilty Monday to U.S. federal drug trafficking charges, marking the opening of one of the most consequential criminal cases ever brought against a foreign head of state.
Speaking through a Spanish interpreter during a brief court appearance in Manhattan, Maduro said, “I was captured,” before being cut off by the judge. When asked for his plea, he said, “I’m innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country.”
The appearance was Maduro’s first since he and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized from their home in a U.S. military operation carried out early Saturday. The Trump administration has said the arrests were justified by long-standing drug trafficking allegations against Maduro and used the action to support its broader effort to remove him from power in Venezuela.
Maduro and Flores were brought to court shortly before noon under armed guard after being transferred from a Brooklyn detention facility. Both wore headsets to follow the English-language proceedings through simultaneous translation.
The case unfolds amid a wider diplomatic and geopolitical crisis, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion that Washington would temporarily “run” Venezuela after Maduro’s removal. Trump reiterated that position over the weekend, saying the United States was “in charge” and would “fix” the country.
As a defendant in the U.S. legal system, Maduro will be entitled to the same procedural rights as any other accused person, including a jury trial. His lawyers are expected to challenge the legality of his arrest, arguing that he is immune from prosecution as a sitting head of state.
Barry Pollack, a Washington-based lawyer representing Maduro, said the defense would argue that Maduro is “head of a sovereign state and entitled to the privilege” that status confers, while also questioning the legality of what he described as a military abduction. A similar immunity argument failed in 1990 when former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega was captured by U.S. forces and prosecuted in the United States.
The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate president, particularly following the country’s widely disputed 2024 election.
Flores also pleaded not guilty. Her lawyer told the court she suffered “significant injuries” during her capture and appeared with bandages on her forehead and right temple.
A 25-page indictment accuses Maduro, Flores and others of conspiring with drug cartels to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tonnes of cocaine into the United States. If convicted, they could face life sentences. The indictment also alleges they ordered kidnappings, beatings and murders to enforce their drug trafficking operation, including the killing of a local drug boss in Caracas.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case, cut short Maduro’s repeated claims that he had been unlawfully abducted, telling him there would be “a time and place” for such arguments and confirming his identity before proceeding.
Outside the courthouse, police separated demonstrators protesting the U.S. military action from those supporting it. Inside, a man in the audience shouted at Maduro in Spanish, calling him an illegitimate president. The man, later identified as Pedro Rojas, said he had previously been imprisoned by the Venezuelan government. As he was escorted out, Maduro responded, “I am a kidnapped president. I am a prisoner of war.”
Following the arrests, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would not govern Venezuela on a day-to-day basis, though it would continue enforcing an existing oil quarantine. Trump, however, has suggested that Maduro’s removal could allow Venezuelan oil production to increase, even as questions remain about how quickly the industry could recover after years of neglect.
In Caracas, Venezuela’s newly installed interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, demanded the return of Maduro and condemned what she called an illegitimate military action. Speaking after being sworn in by her brother, National Assembly leader Jorge Rodríguez, she described Maduro and Flores as “two heroes” who had been kidnapped.
Maduro’s son, Venezuelan lawmaker Nicolás Maduro Guerra, warned that his father’s capture could set a dangerous global precedent.
“If we normalize the kidnapping of a head of state, no country is safe,” he said. “This is not a regional problem. It is a direct threat to global political stability.”
The United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting Monday, where the organization’s top official warned that the United States may have violated international law through its unilateral action.