Maduro Pleads not Guilty, Insists He Remains Venezuela’s President

Ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Monday pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges during a defiant appearance before a federal court in New York, days after he was dramatically seized by US forces in Caracas.

According to AFP, Maduro, 63, told a judge in Manhattan that he was innocent and claimed he was still the legitimate president of Venezuela.

“I’m innocent. I’m not guilty,” Maduro said through an interpreter, speaking softly as he appeared in court wearing an orange shirt and beige trousers.

He told the court he had been forcibly taken from his home in the Venezuelan capital on Saturday. “I’m president of the Republic of Venezuela, and I’ve been kidnapped since January 3,” he said. “I was captured at my home in Caracas, Venezuela.”

Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, also entered a not-guilty plea. The judge ordered both to remain in custody and scheduled the next hearing for March 17.

US authorities said Maduro and his wife were arrested during a surprise early-morning operation in Caracas involving airstrikes, warplanes, and a heavy naval presence.

Following the raid, thousands of Maduro supporters marched through the streets of Caracas, while his former deputy, Delcy Rodríguez, was sworn in as interim president.

Venezuela’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado, rejected Rodríguez’s appointment, describing her as “rejected” by the Venezuelan people and accusing her of being a key figure in “torture, persecution, corruption, and narcotrafficking.”

Speaking from an undisclosed location in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, her first public comments since the weekend, Machado said she planned to return to Venezuela “as soon as possible” after leaving the country last month to receive her Nobel Peace Prize.

US President Donald Trump said after the operation that Washington was now “in charge” in Venezuela and intended to take control of the country’s vast but struggling oil industry. He also ruled out holding elections in the near term.

“We have to fix the country first. You can’t have an election,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News aired Monday. “There’s no way the people could even vote.”

However, US House Speaker Mike Johnson said elections “should happen in short order.”

Maduro, who came to power in 2013 after the death of socialist leader Hugo Chávez, has long been accused by the United States and the European Union of rigging elections and jailing political opponents. His most recent re-election in 2024 was widely disputed.

The unfolding crisis has plunged the oil-rich nation of about 30 million people into deeper uncertainty.

Trump has indicated he is willing to work with Rodríguez and other figures from Maduro’s former inner circle, provided they comply with US demands on oil policy. Rodríguez has since said she is open to “cooperation.”

Brian Naranjo, a former US diplomat in Venezuela, warned that the country could face even greater instability.

“I’ve not been so worried about the future of Venezuela, ever,” he told AFP. “There’s a very real possibility that things are going to get much, much worse before they get better.”

Naranjo pointed to Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino López as potential rivals to Rodríguez’s authority.

“Delcy had better be sleeping with one eye open,” he said, warning that both men could attempt to seize power.

Meanwhile, Trump’s foreign policy posture has raised alarm internationally. He said on Sunday that communist Cuba was “ready to fall” and repeated claims that the United States should control Greenland, a territory of US ally Denmark.

Brian Finucane of the International Crisis Group said Trump appeared to be “disregarding international law altogether” in Venezuela, adding that US domestic laws may also have been violated.

Details of the US operation in Caracas continued to emerge, with Cuba claiming that 32 of its nationals were killed in the attack. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said nearly 200 American personnel took part in the raid, adding that some injuries were recorded but no US deaths were reported.