Maduro Pleads His Innocence During New York Courtroom Appearance

NEW YORK – Deposed Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro appeared in a New York court Monday afternoon, protesting his capture as he pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges.

“I am here kidnapped since Jan. 3, Saturday,” Maduro said during his appearance in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Maduro was taken to court, backed by heavy security, early on Monday. He was flown by helicopter from Brooklyn to Manhattan and then driven to the courthouse in an armored vehicle. He and his wife, Cilia Flores, were brought into court in leg shackles and jail-issued garments. Both put on headsets to hear the English-language proceedings as they were translated into Spanish.

Maduro’s court appearance, following his and his wife’s capture from their Caracas home Saturday through an operation run by U.S. forces, starts the U.S. government’s most significant prosecution of a foreign leader in decades.

When asked for his plea to the charges, Maduro expressed through a translator, “I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.”

Flores, who is additionally facing charges, identified herself to the judge as “first lady of the Republic of Venezuela” before stating that she was “not guilty. Completely innocent,” when asked for her plea.

Defense attorney Barry Pollack says he expects to challenge the legality of Maduro’s “military abduction.”

Flores, on the other hand, is represented by Mark Donnelly, a former federal prosecutor in Texas.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, whose office is prosecuting the couple, said, “From the perspective of where I sit, my people and I are completely comfortable with this prosecution,” during an interview Monday morning on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Judge Alvin Hellerstein, the judge hearing the case, scheduled the next court date for March 17. Until then, the couple has agreed to remain in custody without bail, with the option to apply later.