The president of Venezuela, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, stated on Monday, January 5, 2026, during his first appearance before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), that he considers himself \u201can innocent man\u201d of the drug trafficking charges on which the administration of Donald Trump bases his capture and transfer to the United States, and declared that he regards himself as \u201ca prisoner of war.\u201d
\u201cI am the president of Venezuela and I consider myself a prisoner of war. I was captured in my home in Caracas,\u201d Maduro said during the hearing, at which both he and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty to the charges they face.
Maduro entered the courtroom with a slight limp and wearing prison clothing: orange shoes, khaki pants, and a navy blue short-sleeved T-shirt over an orange one.
He was followed by his wife, Cilia Flores, who was wearing the same attire.<\/p>\n\n
For the proceedings, his handcuffs were removed, and during the hearing\u2014lasting less than an hour\u2014Maduro put on headphones to listen to the Spanish translation of the judge, the prosecutors, and his attorneys.
Throughout the proceedings, he took notes, some of which he even passed to his wife\u2019s lawyers, and he also asked the judge for permission to keep his notes, a request that was granted.<\/p>\n\n
The first time the Venezuelan president spoke was when Judge Alvin Hellerstein, 92, asked him whether he was Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. In addition to confirming his identity, the politician said in Spanish that he had been \u201ccaptured\u201d from his home during a \u201cmilitary intervention\u201d and that he considered himself a \u201cprisoner of war.\u201d
\u201cThere will be a time and place to address all of that. (For now) we only want to know whether you are Nicol\u00e1s Maduro,\u201d Hellerstein interrupted, adding that his duty as judge in this case was to ensure that \u201ca fair trial\u201d takes place.
The formal indictment, made public on Saturday, January 3, 2026, and which revises the original 2020 filing, charges Maduro with conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine, among other offenses.<\/p>\n\n
For her part, Flores is accused of allegedly participating in the conspiracy to traffic cocaine.<\/p>\n\n
These charges carry severe prison sentences if the defendants are found guilty.<\/p>\n\n
Today, both defendants pleaded \u201cnot guilty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Maduro said he was \u201can innocent man\u201d and reiterated that he is the president of Venezuela, while his wife declared herself \u201ccompletely innocent.\u201d
Both requested a \u201cconsular visit\u201d and, through their lawyers, indicated that they have health issues requiring medical attention\u2014particularly Flores, who reportedly has more serious rib injuries and appeared with bandages on her forehead\u2014though no specific details were provided.<\/p>\n\n
Hellerstein noted that he will see all parties again on March 17 for the next hearing.
However, Maduro\u2019s lawyer, Barry Pollack, raised \u201cquestions about the legality\u201d of the proceedings during this hearing.<\/p>\n\n
He argued that his client, as the \u201chead of a sovereign state,\u201d is entitled to the corresponding \u201cprivileges,\u201d and maintained that there are doubts regarding the legality of his \u201ckidnapping by military forces.\u201d He added that \u201cnumerous\u201d pretrial filings would be submitted to address these issues.<\/p>\n\n
Maduro\u2019s appearance drew the attention of journalists from around the world, as well as dozens of Venezuelans and Cubans living in New York.
\u201cWe want to witness history with our own eyes,\u201d Nelia, a Venezuelan visiting New York to see her daughter Cristina, an immigration lawyer, told EFE.
Both women waited for hours in the marble-lined hallways of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to see Maduro\u2019s first hearing.<\/p>\n\n
Outside the courthouse, there were two small groups of demonstrators: one made up of Venezuelans celebrating the arrest, and another\u2014mostly Americans\u2014protesting the Trump administration\u2019s military intervention.<\/p>\n\n
Barry Pollack, Maduro\u2019s lawyer, stated in the New York court that \u201cfor the time being he will not seek bail\u201d for the president, though he did not rule out doing so at a later stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The president of Venezuela, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, stated on Monday, January 5, 2026, during his first appearance before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), that he considers himself \u201can innocent man\u201d of the drug trafficking charges on which the administration of Donald Trump bases his capture and transfer to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":181094,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_eb_data_table":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15445],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-181133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n