Nicolás Maduro arraigned in Manhattan federal court after capture

At noon on Monday, Nicolás Maduro was escorted into a Manhattan federal courtroom following his capture early on Saturday in Caracas, completing the seized Venezuelan leader’s journey from his capital city to a US courtroom.

The appearance was described as a surreal display amid the fallout of a brazen US military operation to grab Maduro. In Judge Alvin Hellerstein’s courtroom Maduro, not handcuffed but wearing ankle shackles, greeted the public gallery with “Happy new year!” in English; his wife, Cilia Flores, arrived with two large Band‑Aids on her face. Both were arraigned on a narco‑terrorism indictment brought by Donald Trump’s justice department, used headphones for live English‑to‑Spanish translation, and at points Maduro studied the charging papers, scribbled notes and insisted “I am Nicolás Maduro Moros” while saying “I am here, kidnapped since 3 January” and that he was “captured in my home.”

Maduro entered a not guilty plea — voicing both “soy inocente” and “no soy culpable” — and Flores said “No culpable, completamente inocente.” Neither requested bail at this point but reserved the right to seek pre‑trial release later; their attorneys requested medical care and Flores’s lawyer said she suffered “multiple” injuries during “her abduction,” including a potential rib fracture. Hellerstein scheduled a conference in the case for 17 March.

Key Topics

Politics, Nicolas Maduro, Cilia Flores, Narco-terrorism, Manhattan Federal Court, Caracas