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New Delhi: Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday said he was not guilty and alleged that he was kidnapped as he made his first appearance in a US federal court on Monday on the narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges. The Trump administration captured him and brought him to New York last week, citing these charges.
Appearing before US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, Maduro told the court he was captured and had been forcibly taken from Venezuela. “I'm innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country," he said, according to reporters present in the courtroom.
First apperance since capture
This was his first public appearance since he and his wife were captured from their home in an unprecedented military operation. Maduro and his wife were taken to the American courtroom in Manhattan under armed guard from the Brooklyn jail where they have been lodged since they arrived in the US on Saturday. The deposed Venezuelan leader will appear before the court next on March 17.
Maduro's lawyers are expected to challenge the legality of his arrest, arguing that he is immune from prosecution as a sovereign head of state.
Venezuela's interim president seeks his return
Venezuela's new interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, appealed to the Trump administration to release Maduro, while also inviting collaboration with US President Donald Trump and "respectful relations" with his country.
Trump earlier said that the US would "run" Venezuela temporarily, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that it would not govern the country day-to-day other than enforcing an existing "axoil quarantine."
