{"id":90574,"date":"2026-01-06T01:01:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T01:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/90574\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T01:01:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T01:01:08","slug":"toppled-dictator-nicolas-maduro-claims-he-was-kidnapped-by-us-forces-in-court-outburst-pleads-not-guilty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/90574\/","title":{"rendered":"Toppled dictator Nicol\u00e1s Maduro claims he was ‘kidnapped’ by US forces in court outburst, pleads not guilty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Toppled ruthless Venezuelan despot and accused narco-terrorist Nicol\u00e1s Maduro defiantly claimed <\/a>Monday he was \u201ckidnapped\u2019\u2019 while making his historic first appearance in chains in Manhattan court \u2014declaring, \u201cI am a decent man.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The 63-year-old deposed dictator \u2014 his legs shackled and wearing blue and orange prison garb \u2014 entered the courtroom flanked by US marshals after his extraordinary made-for-Hollywood US capture Saturday.<\/p>\n

Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores being transported to a Manhattan courthouse on Monday, January 5, 2026. ZUMAPRESS.com<\/p>\n

The ousted South American tyrant, acting as if he still commanded power on the world stage, pronounced, \u201cHappy New Year\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

Maduro \u2014 notorious for torturing, imprisoning and starving his countryman while in power \u2014 almost immediately interrupted\u00a0his\u00a0appearance with a proclamation of his innocence when 92-year-old federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein asked him to confirm his identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the president of the Republic of Venezuela. \u2026 I am here kidnapped. \u2026 I was captured at my home in Caracas, Venezuela,\u201d the infamous suspect, wearing black headphones for his translation feed, whined in Spanish before the judge stopped him.<\/p>\n

Hellerstein shot back, \u201cLet me interfere \u2014 there will be a time and a place to go into all of this.<\/p>\n

Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty to federal charges. REUTERS<\/p>\n

\u201cYour counsel will be able to make motions. \u2026 At this time, I just want to know one thing: Are you Nicol\u00e1s Maduro Moros?\u201d the judge asked.<\/p>\n

The ousted dictator replied, \u201cI am Nicholas Maduro Moros.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The judge, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, then\u00a0informed Maduro of his rights, including that he didn\u2019t have to speak and that he can have a court-appointed lawyer if he can\u2019t afford a private one. <\/p>\n

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 \u2014 hinting his defense will question the legality of the US action to capture Maduro in the first place.<\/p>\n

Maduro, when asked by Hellerstein if he was aware of his rights, responded, \u201cI did not know of these rights. <\/p>\n

A picture Trump shared of fallen Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro on Truth Social after the raid. via REUTERS<\/p>\n

\u201cYour honor is informing me of them now,\u201d said the despised leader, who routinely rigging elections in his favor through the years.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

Maduro also is charged with narcoterrorism for allegedly working with terror groups, and both are separately charged with \u201ccocaine importation conspiracy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Additionally, Maduro and\u00a0Flores are charged with possessing machine guns, and \u201cconspiracy to possess machine guns.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicolas Maduro with DEA agents on January 3, 2026. via REUTERS<\/p>\n

A warehouse is in flames in Cracas, Venezuela, on January 3, 2026. via Storyful<\/p>\n

The 25-page indictment unsealed Saturday contained some additional details about the accusations in the case, alleging:<\/p>\n

Maduro and wife ordered \u201ckidnappings, beatings and murders\u201d of people who owed them drug money or \u201cotherwise undermined their drug trafficking operation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair is responsible for the murder of a local drug boss in Caracas.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The new version of the indictment adds charges against Maduro\u2019s wife and his son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cunfairly\u201d by US authorities.<\/p>\n

Maduro, clad in prison-issued orange shoes, beige pants\u00a0and a blue shirt over an orange shirt\u00a0\u2014 with his hands left unshackled \u2014\u00a0was asked Monday how he pleaded, then started spouting again, \u201cI am innocent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country,\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n

He furiously scribbled notes on a yellow legal pad during the proceedings while continuing to denounce the indictment against him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not guilty of anything that is mentioned here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Maduro asked at one point that his notes be \u201crespected\u201d and that he be \u201centitled to keep them,\u201d\u00a0an unusual request Hellerstein agreed to without hesitation.<\/p>\n

Follow The Post\u2019s live coverage of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s NYC court appearance following his capture<\/a><\/p>\n

Venezuelan-Americans celebrating the capture of Maduro and his wife on Monday. Matthew McDermott<\/p>\n

A demonstrator with a sign outside of the courthouse thanking President Trump for arresting Maduro. Matthew McDermott<\/p>\n

People protesting Maduro\u2019s arrest outside of the courthouse. LP MEDIA<\/p>\n

One of the more bizarre moments in the proceeding occurred when Maduro was proclaiming he was innocent \u2014 and a Venezuelan detractor yelled from the gallery, \u201cJamas!\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The Spanish word translates to \u201cnever\u2019\u2019 \u2014 but it is pronounced like \u201cHamas\u2019\u2019 in English, also the name of the Palestinian terror organization.<\/p>\n

The sound jarred more than one court-goer, observers said.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the latest on Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s capture:<\/p>\n

The noisy onlooker, who identified himself as 33-year-old\u00a0Pedro 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 \u201creal justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maduro turned to face him and said, \u201cI am a man of God\u201d and, \u201cI am a prisoner of war\u201d as he was led out of the courtroom.<\/p>\n

His wife, Cilia Flores, 69,\u00a0entered the courtroom along with her husband in a\u00a0similar set of jail-issued\u00a0clothing for her arraignment at the same time.<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

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 \u2014 as authorities ensured their protection while also making sure they remained in custody.<\/p>\n

The couple had each of their handcuffs removed before they got into the courtroom.<\/p>\n

Flores\u2019 blond hair was tied back into a bun, and she had two bandages on her face \u2014 one over her right eyelid and another on her forehead \u2014 involving injuries that her private lawyer, Mark Donnelly, said she sustained during her \u201cabduction\u201d from Venezuela.<\/p>\n

Donnelly said Flores would need to undergo a full X-ray to ensure her health while in federal custody, given her \u201csignificant injuries,\u201d including a possible rib fracture and bruising.<\/p>\n

Maduro was taken away from the courthouse in an armored vehicle after pleading not guilty. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Flores, asked by the judge to identify herself at the hearing, replied \u00a0\u201cI am the first lady of the Republic of Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n

She told the judge she is \u201ccompletely innocent\u201d when quizzed about her plea.<\/p>\n

Maduro and his wife being transported in a convoy back to Manhattan Detention Center. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Pollack, who also questioned the\u00a0\u201clegality\u201d\u00a0of Maduro\u2019s capture, said that although the toppled Venezuelan strongman was not seeking immediate release, he may submit a bail application at a later date.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s reputed onetime mistress, adult film star Stormy Daniels, to federal court.<\/p>\n

The judge also issued an order in May blocking the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act as grounds for deporting illegal migrants.<\/p>\n

Several hundred protesters were out in force outside the courthouse before Monday\u2019s proceedings began, including lefty pro-Maduro demonstrators and a slightly larger group of\u00a0Venezuelan and Cubans cheering his arrest.<\/p>\n

DEA agents seen in the back of a van guarding the convoy. REUTERS<\/p>\n

The NYPD separated the groups by corralling them with metal barricades.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we are here happy because he\u2019s going to face justice,\u201d Venezuelan American Rafael Escalante said of Maduro.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other anti-Maduro demonstrators lambasted the Americans who are pushing for his release.<\/p>\n

A Brooklyn woman at the clash had dismissed the notion of Venezuelans celebrating his capture as \u201cpropaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dario Blanzo, who was born in Cuba and came out to celebrate Maduro\u2019s capture, called the protesters \u201ca\u2013holes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re an a\u2013hole! You don\u2019t even know where Venezuela is!\u201d he shouted at a protester.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Venezuela and Cuba, nobody can do that. Nobody can do that. You go to jail if you do that,\u201d he said about the dissenting crowd.<\/p>\n

Will Contreres, 52, who immigrated from Caracas in 1996, screamed at the crowd, \u201cYou\u2019re not for my country! Go to Cuba!<\/p>\n

\u201cEighty percent of you guys don\u2019t even understand what I\u2019m saying. You don\u2019t speak Spanish!\u201d Contreres yelled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maduro is due back in court March 17.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Toppled ruthless Venezuelan despot and accused narco-terrorist Nicol\u00e1s Maduro defiantly claimed Monday he was \u201ckidnapped\u2019\u2019 while making his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":90575,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[419,7317,75,277,84,83,57,9,24,15862,63,42364,58],"class_list":["post-90574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-courts","tag-drugs","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-federal-court","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nicolas-maduro","tag-nyc","tag-us-capture-of-nicolas-maduro","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}