Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife appeared before a New York court on Monday, to face four federal charges, including drug trafficking, narco-terrorism conspiracy and weapons charges, according to an unsealed indictment.
Since 2013, Maduro has been the acting president of Venezuela, “sitting atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity,” the indictment alleges, citing some of his top Cabinet members and Maduro’s son as defendants.
On Monday, just two days after Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by a U.S. intelligence operation in Venezuela’s capital city of Caracas, the pair were transferred from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to Manhattan via helicopter, where they appeared before Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Both pleaded not guilty to federal charges.
During the hearing, Maduro claimed that he was “kidnapped,” per The New York Times. “I’m innocent. I’m not guilty. I am a decent man,” he told the judge through a translator. “I am still president of my country.”
He also claimed to have not seen the indictment against him until Monday at the hearing.
Flores also claimed she was “completely innocent.”
The couple will reportedly not be seeking bail, but Maduro’s attorney said that it could be a possibility in the future.
In terms of Maduro’s legal battle moving forward, CNN’s chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller told the outlet that Maduro’s attorneys will likely push against the legality of his abduction before presenting any evidence to prove innocence.
During court on Monday, Maduro’s attorney, Barry Pollack, told the judge that his client took issue with the circumstances that led to him being in a New York City courthouse, per CNN.
The next hearing is scheduled for March 17.