Toppled ruthless Venezuelan despot and accused narco-terrorist Nicolás Maduro defiantly claimed Monday he was “kidnapped’’ while making his historic first appearance in chains in Manhattan court —declaring, “I am a decent man.’’
The 63-year-old deposed dictator — his legs shackled and wearing blue and orange prison garb — entered the courtroom flanked by US marshals after his extraordinary made-for-Hollywood US capture Saturday.
Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores being transported to a Manhattan courthouse on Monday, January 5, 2026. ZUMAPRESS.com
The ousted South American tyrant, acting as if he still commanded power on the world stage, pronounced, “Happy New Year” in English to reporters packed into the jury box for space, then again to those in the gallery before greeting his lawyers and taking a seat.
Maduro — notorious for torturing, imprisoning and starving his countryman while in power — almost immediately interrupted his appearance with a proclamation of his innocence when 92-year-old federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein asked him to confirm his identity.
“I’m the president of the Republic of Venezuela. … I am here kidnapped. … I was captured at my home in Caracas, Venezuela,” the infamous suspect, wearing black headphones for his translation feed, whined in Spanish before the judge stopped him.
Hellerstein shot back, “Let me interfere — there will be a time and a place to go into all of this.
Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty to federal charges. REUTERS
“Your counsel will be able to make motions. … At this time, I just want to know one thing: Are you Nicolás Maduro Moros?” the judge asked.
The ousted dictator replied, “I am Nicholas Maduro Moros.’’
The judge, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, then informed Maduro of his rights, including that he didn’t have to speak and that he can have a court-appointed lawyer if he can’t afford a private one.
In court with Maduro was top-notch legal eagle Barry Pollack, who famously negotiated the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in 2024 and is helping to rep the beleaguered Venezuelan — hinting his defense will question the legality of the US action to capture Maduro in the first place.
Maduro, when asked by Hellerstein if he was aware of his rights, responded, “I did not know of these rights.
A picture Trump shared of fallen Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro on Truth Social after the raid. via REUTERS
“Your honor is informing me of them now,” said the despised leader, who routinely rigging elections in his favor through the years.
The judge then formally arraigned Maduro on the charges against him, including a range of narco-terrorism, drug and weapons offenses that could carry the death penalty.
Maduro and his wife are charged with working with drug cartels to ship thousands of tons of cocaine into the US for more than 20 years, between 1999 and 2025.
Maduro also is charged with narcoterrorism for allegedly working with terror groups, and both are separately charged with “cocaine importation conspiracy.”
Additionally, Maduro and Flores are charged with possessing machine guns, and “conspiracy to possess machine guns.”
Nicolas Maduro with DEA agents on January 3, 2026. via REUTERS
A warehouse is in flames in Cracas, Venezuela, on January 3, 2026. via Storyful
The 25-page indictment unsealed Saturday contained some additional details about the accusations in the case, alleging:
Maduro and wife ordered “kidnappings, beatings and murders” of people who owed them drug money or “otherwise undermined their drug trafficking operation.”
The pair is responsible for the murder of a local drug boss in Caracas.
Manhattan federal prosecutors first secured an indictment of Maduro and top members of his administration in 2020, with US authorities offering a $15 million reward at the time for information leading to his arrest.
The new version of the indictment adds charges against Maduro’s wife and his son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra.
The case comes just a few years after US prosecutors brought another drug-trafficking case in the same courthouse against another South American head of state: former Honduras president Juan Orlando Hernandez. Hernandez was sentenced in June 2024 to serve 45 years in prison. But in December, President Trump pardoned him, claiming he was treated “unfairly” by US authorities.
Maduro, clad in prison-issued orange shoes, beige pants and a blue shirt over an orange shirt — with his hands left unshackled — was asked Monday how he pleaded, then started spouting again, “I am innocent.
“I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country,” he insisted.
He furiously scribbled notes on a yellow legal pad during the proceedings while continuing to denounce the indictment against him.
“I am not guilty of anything that is mentioned here,” he said.
Maduro asked at one point that his notes be “respected” and that he be “entitled to keep them,” an unusual request Hellerstein agreed to without hesitation.
Follow The Post’s live coverage of Nicolás Maduro’s NYC court appearance following his capture
Venezuelan-Americans celebrating the capture of Maduro and his wife on Monday. Matthew McDermott
A demonstrator with a sign outside of the courthouse thanking President Trump for arresting Maduro. Matthew McDermott
People protesting Maduro’s arrest outside of the courthouse. LP MEDIA
One of the more bizarre moments in the proceeding occurred when Maduro was proclaiming he was innocent — and a Venezuelan detractor yelled from the gallery, “Jamas!’’
The Spanish word translates to “never’’ — but it is pronounced like “Hamas’’ in English, also the name of the Palestinian terror organization.
The sound jarred more than one court-goer, observers said.
Here’s the latest on Nicolás Maduro’s capture:
The noisy onlooker, who identified himself as 33-year-old Pedro Rojas, later stood up as Maduro was leaving court and further heckled the ousted tyrant in Spanish, calling him an illegitimate president who will now face “real justice.”
Maduro turned to face him and said, “I am a man of God” and, “I am a prisoner of war” as he was led out of the courtroom.
His wife, Cilia Flores, 69, entered the courtroom along with her husband in a similar set of jail-issued clothing for her arraignment at the same time.
The pair had been whisked by dystopian-looking armored BearCat vehicles from the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn hours earlier to a helicopter pad in the borough.
They were then flown to a landing site on Wall Street in Manhattan and brought by BearCat to federal court under ultra-tight security involving machine-gun-clad law enforcement — as authorities ensured their protection while also making sure they remained in custody.
The couple had each of their handcuffs removed before they got into the courtroom.
Flores’ blond hair was tied back into a bun, and she had two bandages on her face — one over her right eyelid and another on her forehead — involving injuries that her private lawyer, Mark Donnelly, said she sustained during her “abduction” from Venezuela.
Donnelly said Flores would need to undergo a full X-ray to ensure her health while in federal custody, given her “significant injuries,” including a possible rib fracture and bruising.
Maduro was taken away from the courthouse in an armored vehicle after pleading not guilty. AFP via Getty Images
Flores, asked by the judge to identify herself at the hearing, replied “I am the first lady of the Republic of Venezuela.”
She told the judge she is “completely innocent” when quizzed about her plea.
Maduro and his wife being transported in a convoy back to Manhattan Detention Center. AFP via Getty Images
Pollack, who also questioned the “legality” of Maduro’s capture, said that although the toppled Venezuelan strongman was not seeking immediate release, he may submit a bail application at a later date.
Hellerstein has previously ruled against President Trump and his administration in unrelated cases. For example, he twice rejected overtures to move a case involving alleged hush-money payments to Trump’s reputed onetime mistress, adult film star Stormy Daniels, to federal court.
The judge also issued an order in May blocking the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act as grounds for deporting illegal migrants.
Several hundred protesters were out in force outside the courthouse before Monday’s proceedings began, including lefty pro-Maduro demonstrators and a slightly larger group of Venezuelan and Cubans cheering his arrest.
DEA agents seen in the back of a van guarding the convoy. REUTERS
The NYPD separated the groups by corralling them with metal barricades.
“Today we are here happy because he’s going to face justice,” Venezuelan American Rafael Escalante said of Maduro.
“But we are also making sure that the history of Venezuela is told by Venezuelans, not by a group of paid activists that make a career out of standing up for dictators.”
Other anti-Maduro demonstrators lambasted the Americans who are pushing for his release.
A Brooklyn woman at the clash had dismissed the notion of Venezuelans celebrating his capture as “propaganda.”
Dario Blanzo, who was born in Cuba and came out to celebrate Maduro’s capture, called the protesters “a–holes.
“You’re an a–hole! You don’t even know where Venezuela is!” he shouted at a protester.
“In Venezuela and Cuba, nobody can do that. Nobody can do that. You go to jail if you do that,” he said about the dissenting crowd.
Will Contreres, 52, who immigrated from Caracas in 1996, screamed at the crowd, “You’re not for my country! Go to Cuba!
“Eighty percent of you guys don’t even understand what I’m saying. You don’t speak Spanish!” Contreres yelled.
Maduro is due back in court March 17.