Ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro defiantly pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan courtroom Monday to narco-terrorism charges brought by the Trump Justice Department, asserting he remains ruler of his nation despite the military operation that toppled him and brought him to New York.
“I am innocent, I am not guilty, I am a decent man,” Maduro said. “I am still president of my country.”
The deposed Latin American president and his wife, codefendant Cilia Flores, who were seized by the U.S. in a military operation, were transported to court in a motorcade with armored vehicles after a helicopter brought them from MDC Brooklyn to lower Manhattan shortly after 8 a.m.
Manhattan Federal Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein is presiding over the case. Hellerstein, a Clinton appointee, has presided over decades-long litigation brought by the families of 9/11 victims, in addition to several Trump-related cases.
Nicolas Maduro greets supporters upon his arrival at a rally marking the anniversary of the Battle of Santa Ines, in Caracas on December 10, 2025. (Federico PARRA / AFP via Getty Images)
The indictment brought by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office that the Trump administration alleges that the socialist president and other Venezuelan leaders had for decades corrupted government institutions to import cocaine to the U.S., working hand in hand with cartel leaders. The charges carry life in prison.
Maduro’s government has accused the U.S. of pursuing Venezuela’s immense oil reserves under the auspices of combating drug trafficking.
The ousted leader, who’s 63, was represented in court by Barry Pollack, a prominent defense attorney who previously defended WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Flores, 69, had retained the lawyer Mark E. Donnelly.
People protest outside Manhattan Federal Court before the arraignment of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday. (Stefan Jeremiah/AP)
Scores of protesters had gathered outside the courthouse Monday, many bearing signs calling for Maduro’s release and slamming U.S. military intervention in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The capture by U.S. forces early Saturday on a military base in Caracas has been slammed by critics as a violation of international law. It’s led to fears of widespread instability and endless war in the Latin American country amid a series of conflicting statements from President Trump and his cabinet members about who will resume control in Maduro’s absence.
Speaking about the situation at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend, Trump told reporters that the U.S. would “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in comments over the weekend, had a different spin on the president’s assertion about the U.S. taking control of Venezuela, saying it would continue to impose a quarantine on oil exports but that it would not oversee control of the country on a daily basis.