Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty to narco-terrorism charges in New York federal court on Monday, days after they were captured by the U.S. at their home in an overnight military operation.
Appearing before U.S. Judge Alvin Hellerstein, Maduro and Flores said they were innocent of the drug trafficking allegations brought against them by the Trump administration.
According to the 25-page indictment, Maduro, his wife, his son and others are accused of using his “illegally obtained authority” to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States. They could face life in prison if convicted. Their next court date is set for March 17.
Maduro and Flores were transported back by helicopter from Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where they are being detained. As he left the courtroom, Maduro said, “I am a kidnapped president. I am a prisoner of war.”
President Trump defended the American military intervention to capture Maduro in Venezuela as a national security issue, given its vast oil reserves, saying that the U.S. would temporarily “run the country” until it is “run properly.”
Trump hinted at further military action in other Latin American countries, including Colombia, Cuba and Mexico.
The move sent shockwaves across the western hemisphere, including in Greenland, after Trump expressed renewed interest in the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security,” Trump told reporters. “And Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”
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