Ousted Venezuelan President Maduro faces US court, pleads not guilty

Ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro pleaded not guilty Monday in a New York federal court, telling the judge, “I am innocent, I am a decent man, I am President.” The hearing marks the first U.S. court appearance for Maduro since his dramatic arrest on drug-trafficking and narco-terrorism charges.

He faces sweeping drug-trafficking and weapons charges in what U.S. officials describe as one of the most significant American law-enforcement actions in Latin America in decades.

Maduro was transported to the Manhattan federal courthouse by helicopter and motorcade, according to footage aired by U.S. media. He was accompanied by his wife, Cilia Flores, who also entered a not guilty plea to charges related to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism. U.S. officials said special forces had entered Caracas by air and breached Maduro’s security perimeter to detain him near a fortified location.

According to U.S. prosecutors, Maduro led a criminal network that for more than two decades used state institutions to facilitate the shipment of large quantities of cocaine into the United States. The indictment alleges that he and his allies provided protection and logistical support to major criminal groups, including Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel and the Tren de Aragua gang, in exchange for financial benefits.

Prosecutors also accuse Maduro of authorizing the sale of Venezuelan diplomatic passports to drug traffickers and permitting flights under diplomatic cover to transport illicit proceeds from Mexico to Venezuela.

Maduro is charged with four federal offenses, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, and weapons-related crimes involving machine guns and destructive devices. 

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which first brought charges against Maduro in 2020. The updated indictment, unsealed over the weekend, adds new details and defendants, including Flores, who is accused of ordering kidnappings and murders and accepting bribes to arrange meetings between traffickers and Venezuelan anti-drug officials.

The case is expected to be overseen by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a senior and highly influential member of the federal judiciary. The 92-year-old Orthodox Jewish judge is among the longest-serving active judges in the country and has presided over some of the most consequential national security, terrorism, and international criminal cases in U.S. courts. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1998, Hellerstein has continued to hear major cases well into his tenth decade.