‘I Am Innocent, I Was Kidnapped’: Inside Venezuelan Leader Maduro’s Dramatic 40-Minute New York Court Appearance

New Delhi: Venezuela's deposed leader Nicolas Maduro’s court appearance in Manhattan, his first since he and his wife, Cilia Flores, were plucked from their Caracas home on Saturday in a stunning middle-of-the-night military operation, kicked off the U.S. government’s most consequential prosecution in decades of a foreign head of state. 

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro walked through the doorway of a New York City courtroom for the first time and informed that he had just been 'kidnapped'. 

“I am here kidnapped since Jan. 3, Saturday,” Maduro said, standing and leaning his tall frame toward a tabletop microphone. 

Maduro, when asked to confirm his identity for the proceedings to start stated, “I am Nicolás Maduro Moros.” and "I was captured at my home in Caracas", he added. 

'There will be a time…'

US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a 92-year-old jurist, who was appointed to the federal bench in 1998 by Bill Clinton, interrupted him, saying: “There will be a time and place to go into all of this.”

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during the dramatic 40-minute arraignment, pleaded not guilty to drugs and weapon charges. He stated, “I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country,” as per news agency Associated Press.

When a public member during the proceedings shouted at Maduro stating he would "pay" for his crimes, maintaining calm and expressionless demeanour, the deposed leader said, "I'm a president and prisoner of war."

'Maduro is head of a sovereign state'

Under the shadow of intense security, the 63-year-old Maduro was airlifted by helicopter from Brooklyn to Manhattan early Monday. The final leg of the journey was completed in a fortified armoured vehicle before he and Flores were escorted into the courtroom. Shacked at the ankles and dressed in standard prison attire, the pair donned headsets, listening intently as the English proceedings were funneled to them in Spanish.

During the proceeding, Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, said he expects to contest the legality of his “military abduction.” He added Maduro is “head of a sovereign state and is entitled to the privileges and immunities that go with that office.”

Meanwhile, Flores, identifying herself as first lady of the Republic of Venezuela, was much quieter, with bandages near her eyes and forehead for injuries her lawyers said she sustained during their weekend arrest.

Maduro and his wife did not seek bail during the proceedings, but can do so at a later date, meaning they will remain in federal custody.

A legal fight ensues

As a criminal defendant in the US legal system, Maduro will have the same rights as any other person charged with a crime in the country, including the right to jury trial. But, given the circumstances of his arrest and the geopolitical stakes at play, he’ll also be nearly, but not quite unique.

That was made clear from the outset as Maduro, who took copious notes throughout the proceedings and wished Happy New Year to reporters as he entered the courtroom, repeatedly pressed his case that he had been unlawfully abducted.

A 25-page indictment

A 25-page indictment accuses Maduro and others of working with drug cartels to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S. They could face life in prison if convicted. 

Among other things, the indictment accuses Maduro and his wife of ordering kidnappings, beatings and murders of those who owed them drug money or undermined their drug trafficking operation. That included the killing of a local drug boss in Caracas, the indictment said.

Also Read: Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei May Seek Refuge In Russia If Unrest Intensifies; Embassy Denies Reports