NEW YORK — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro appeared in court Wednesday alongside his attorneys, where proceedings are expected to focus on his ongoing challenge to the U.S. military action that removed him from power and brought him to New York to face federal drug trafficking charges.
Maduro, 63, and his wife Cilia Flores, 69, have been confined to a Brooklyn jail facility since U.S. forces conducted a late-night raid on their home in Caracas, Venezuela, transporting them to New York in early January.
Both defendants have entered not guilty pleas. If convicted, they could spend the rest of their lives behind bars after being accused of conspiring to funnel cocaine into the United States.
The Trump administration has characterized the operation as a “surgical law enforcement operation” tied to a criminal case that was originally filed six years ago. Maduro, however, has described himself as a prisoner of war and called his removal from Venezuela a kidnapping.
Federal prosecutors allege that Maduro orchestrated a scheme to move thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S. by working with Venezuelan law enforcement officials to protect major drug traffickers.
At his arraignment in January, Maduro addressed the court in Spanish, stating: “I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.”
His attorney, Barry Pollack, has indicated plans to challenge the legality of what he described as Maduro’s “military abduction.” The defense team has noted that several complex legal questions must be resolved before any trial can move forward.
Neither Maduro nor Flores has sought release on bail. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein has not yet scheduled a trial date.
