Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro appeared in a New York federal court on Monday, pleading not guilty to charges including drug trafficking, two days after US forces captured him in a dramatic raid on his Caracas residence.
The 63-year-old former leader, dressed in an orange shirt and beige trousers, told a Manhattan judge through an interpreter, “I’m innocent. I’m not guilty.” Maduro described himself as “kidnapped since January 3,” referring to the operation in the Venezuelan capital.
His wife, Cilia Flores, also entered a not guilty plea. The court ordered both to remain in custody and scheduled a new hearing for March 17.
The raid, carried out in the early hours of Saturday, involved US commandos, airstrikes, warplanes, and a substantial naval presence. In response, thousands of Venezuelans marched in support of Maduro, while his former deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, was sworn in as interim president.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado condemned Rodriguez, calling her “one of the main architects of torture, persecution, corruption, and narcotrafficking” and claiming she is “rejected” by the Venezuelan people. Speaking to Fox News from an undisclosed location, Machado said she plans to return to Venezuela soon after leaving to accept her Nobel Peace Prize.
Following the operation, former US President Donald Trump stated that the United States is “in charge” in Venezuela and intends to take control of the nation’s oil industry. He dismissed the possibility of new elections in the near term, citing the country’s instability.
“There’s no way the people could even vote right now,” Trump told NBC News. However, US House Speaker Mike Johnson, an ally of Trump, suggested that elections “should happen in short order.”
Venezuela’s Ongoing Crisis
Maduro, who assumed office in 2013 after Hugo Chávez, has been accused by the US and European Union of maintaining power through rigged elections, political imprisonment, and widespread corruption. The latest events add to the uncertainty for Venezuela’s roughly 30 million residents and the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
Trump has indicated willingness to work with Rodriguez and Maduro’s former team, provided they comply with US demands on oil production. Rodriguez has signaled openness to “cooperation.”
Brian Naranjo, a former US diplomat in Venezuela, warned of potential instability, citing threats from Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Jorge Rodriguez, president of Venezuela’s legislature, who could attempt to seize power from Delcy Rodriguez.
Wider Implications
Trump has also made provocative remarks about Cuba and Greenland, claiming the US should control Greenland, part of allied Denmark, and that Cuba is “ready to fall.” Experts, including Brian Finucane from the International Crisis Group, warned that US actions in Venezuela appear to disregard international law.
Details of the US raid in Caracas are still emerging. Havana reported 32 Cuban deaths in the attack, while US officials said nearly 200 personnel were involved, with some injuries but no fatalities reported on the US side.
