Maduro appears in New York court on narcoterrorism charges

Nicolas Maduro has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges and asserted that he remains the president of Venezuela during an arraignment hearing in New York.

Both the leftist leader and his wife appeared in federal court to face US charges of “narcoterrorism” and associated offences.

Sitting two seats away from his wife, Cilia Flores, Maduro, who wore a headset to provide translation said: “I am not guilty, I am a decent man, I am still the president of my country.”

He also said that he was “captured from my home in Caracas”.

Venezuelan MPs have been chanting “Let’s go Nico!” in support of President Maduro as he is due to appear in court in New York after his capture by US forces.

Fernando Soto Rojas, a senior lawmaker, said at a meeting of Venezuela’s National Assembly: “The president of the United States, Mr Trump, claims to be the prosecutor, the judge, and the policeman of the world.

“We say: you will not succeed and we will ultimately deploy all our solidarity so that our legitimate president, Nicolás Maduro, returns victorious to Miraflores [the presidential palace].”

“Let’s go Nico!” was a slogan of Maduro’s 2024 presidential campaign. The elections that followed have been widely condemned as fraudulent.

US embassy in Venezuela prepares to reopen

The United States is preparing to reopen its embassy in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, a senior State Department official said on Monday.

“As President Trump said, we are making preparations to allow for a reopening should the president make that decision,” the official told Reuters.

Colombian woman killed in US attack

A 45-year-old Colombian woman was killed during the US attack on Caracas on Saturday night, local media has reported.

Yohana Rodríguez Sierra, from Cartagena, was named as a casualty of the bombings in the El Hatillo region to the south of Venezuela’s capital.

The El Tiempo news website reported that she was staying with her daughter, Ana Corina Morales, a 22-year-old nurse, on a farm near television transmission towers, one of the strategic targets hit by American missiles.

Both women were trying to flee when a second missile struck, wounding Rodriguez Sierra. She died from her injuries on her way to hospital.

Gustavo Petro, the president of Colombia, blamed Trump for the death of an innocent civilian: “Under your orders, an innocent Colombian mother was murdered.”

Cuba said 32 of its nationals were killed during the US operation to seize Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro represented by WikiLeaks lawyer

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, left, with Barry Pollack

YUICHI YAMAZAKI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Nicolás Maduro has hired a prominent criminal defence lawyer who represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Barry Pollack filed a notice of appearance as Maduro’s attorney, reports in the US suggest.

The hearing is set to go ahead at noon local time/5pm UK time.

Maduro and his wife were earlier seen being escorted to court by DEA officials.

Meeting to install interim president begins in Venezuela

The first meeting of Venezuela’s National Assembly since the capture of President Maduro has begun in Caracas.

Delcy Rodríguez is expected to be sworn in as the country’s new leader during the meeting.

Politicians at the assembly called America’s attack on Saturday “barbaric” and “cowardly”. Nicolás Maduro Guerra, the son of Maduro, said his father and stepmother had been kidnapped by the US and vowed “they will return” to their homeland.

US not at war with Venezuela

Mike Waltz at the security council meeting in New York

SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES

Mike Waltz, the US envoy to the United Nations, has said that America is not at war with Venezuela and it is not an occupying power in the country.

He made his remarks at the ongoing UN security council meeting.

Russia and China order Maduro’s release

Russia and China have called on the US to release President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Moscow and Beijing’s envoys to the UN both made the call at the current meeting of the security council, which is ongoing in New York.

Danish PM: Trump must be taken seriously

Denmark’s prime minister has said she believes President Trump is serious about wanting to take over Greenland.

Mette Frederiksen told public broadcaster DR: “Unfortunately, I think the American president should be taken seriously when he says he wants Greenland.

“I have made it very clear where the Kingdom of Denmark stands, and Greenland has repeatedly said that it does not want to be part of the United States.”

She added: “If the United States attacks another Nato country, everything stops.”

The prime minister previously said that the US had “no right to annex” any of the three countries in the Danish kingdom.

US company resumes Venezuelan oil exports

A US tanker carrying some 300,000 barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude oil departed on Monday from the Opec member’s waters, shipping data showed.

The tanker, chartered by Chevron, is bound for the US Gulf Coast after a four-day pause in the company’s exports of Venezuelan oil.

US actions ‘deeply concerning’ for international law

Members of the security council at the United Nations building in New York

REUTERS/BRENDAN MCDERMID

The UN secretary-general has said he is “deeply concerned” that US actions in Venezuela do not respect the rules of international law.

In remarks read on his behalf by Rosemary DiCarlo, the under-secretary-general, during the UN security council meeting on Venezuela, António Guterres called for respect for the independence of states.

Guterres urged “respect for the principles of sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of states” in the statement.

He added: “I am deeply concerned about the possible intensification [of] instability in the country, the potential impact on the region, and the precedent it may set for how relations between and among states are conducted.”

Mexico is a free and sovereign country, says its president

Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico, has reiterated her opposition to Washington’s extradition of Nicolás Maduro and to any type of military intervention in Mexico.

“We categorically reject intervention in the internal matters of other countries,” she said.

“It is necessary to reaffirm that in Mexico the people rule, and that we are a free and sovereign country. Co-operation, yes; subordination and intervention, no.”

Sheinbaum’s comments were read at the start of her daily press conference.

Trump said over the weekend that the US would “have to do something” about the drugs in Mexico.

In response to journalists’ questions, Sheinbaum said: “I don’t believe in an invasion; I don’t even think it’s something they’re taking very seriously.

“On several occasions, he has insisted that the US Army be allowed to enter Mexico. We have said no very firmly first because we defend our sovereignty, and second because it is not necessary.”

UN security council to debate ‘international threats’

A UN security council meeting to discuss the legality of the US intervention in Venezuela has begun in New York.

The UN meeting is taking place in the same city where Maduro is set to appear in court.

The agenda for the meeting says delegates will debate “threats to international peace and security”.

Starmer says he stands with Denmark

Starmer says he ‘stands’ with Denmark

Sir Keir Starmer has said he “stands” with Denmark after President Trump threatened to annex Greenland.

The prime minister said that his Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen, was “right” to refuse the US any claim to the territory.

• Analysis: Trump’s threats against Greenland have forced Starmer’s hand

Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland’s prime minister, said Washington should drop its “fantasies of annexation” and talk to officials in Greenland, rather than make threats.

“No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation. We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law,” the head of Greenland’s government wrote on Facebook.

US needs Greenland for security, says Trump

Trump said after the US intervention in Venezuela that “we need Greenland from the standpoint of national security”.

The EU has said it expects its partners to “respect” the principle of territorial integrity, after President Trump reiterated calls for Greenland to become part of the United States.

• Greenland tells US to end annexation threats: ‘That’s enough now’

Rodríguez to be sworn in as president

Delcy Rodríguez

RAYNER PENA/EPA

Delcy Rodríguez, the vice-president under Nicolás Maduro, will be sworn in as president on Monday in Caracas this afternoon.

Delcy, formerly a staunch critic of the US, said in a lengthy Telegram post: “We consider it a priority to move toward a balanced and respectful international relationship between the United States and Venezuela … based on sovereign equality and non-interference.”

“We extend an invitation to the US government to work together on a co-operation agenda,” she added.

• Who is Delcy Rodríguez? Guerrilla’s daughter is new Venezuela leader

Addressing President Trump directly, Rodríguez said: “Our people and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war. That has always been the position of President Nicolás Maduro.”

Earlier, Trump told The Atlantic Magazine that if Rodríguez “doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro”.

Hands off oil and release Maduro, says China

China calls for the release of Maduro

China has said any agreements it has in place with Venezuela over oil exports will be “protected by law”, regardless of US actions over the weekend and President Trump’s assertion that the US will “take control” of the South American country’s oil industry.

Before the crisis, oil-rich Venezuela exported about 921,000 barrels per day, according to Reuters, with China taking about 80 per cent of that total.

A foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing said on Monday it expected the arrangements to continue and also urged the US to release President Maduro.

Beijing is gravely concerned over the capture of Maduro and his wife and is closely following the security situation, Lin Jian, a spokesman, told a regular press briefing, and said the situation violated international law.

Cooper will address Commons

Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, will lay out the government’s response to the US capture of President Maduro in the House of Commons later today.

Mike Tapp, the Home Office minister, told Sky News there was a need to have “all the facts” amid the “fog of war” before Britain made a call on the legality of the operation.

Mike Tapp speaks to Times Radio

He said: “But at this point, it’s about getting all the facts, speaking with our allies, understanding the United States, and it’s their responsibility to lay out the legal basis for this action, and then we’ll see more. But what we don’t need to do is comment immediately and within a day or two on social media and in the news.”

Maduro to face New York court

President Maduro being led to court on Monday

ADAM GRAY/REUTERS

Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are expected to appear in court at about midday local time (5pm UK time).

The Venezuelan leader and his wife were pictured being escorted while handcuffed by agents from a New York detention centre to a Manhattan federal court.

After a short flight to Manhattan, Maduro and his wife were met by Drug Enforcement Administration officials and led to a military truck.

His wife followed behind

SPLASH NEWS

Roads leading to the courthouse were closed. Police cars and ambulances joined the escort.

The vehicle carrying the couple, was then shown reversing into a space at the basement of the courthouse.