Nicolas Maduro told a US federal judge that he is a “decent man.”
By Catholics for Catholics
Two days after being spectacularly taken by an elite Army Delta Force commando from his Caracas complex, the former president of Venezuela appeared in a New York courthouse and pleaded not guilty to American federal charges; he declared himself a “prisoner of war.”
Nicolas Maduro, who was captured Saturday and taken to the United States, donned a navy shirt over orange prison garb and wore headphones used for translation. He made his first historic appearance in chains, according to The New York Post.
“I’m innocent. I’m not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still the president of my country,” he said in Spanish, formally entering a plea of not guilty to narco-terrorism and cocaine importation.
Flanked by US marshals, the 63-year-old toppled dictator — with shackled legs and wearing blue and orange prison garb — came into the courtroom.
Barry Pollack, the high-profile seasoned trial lawyer who is famous for defending Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, showed-up in court with Maduro. The former President of Venezuela pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons-related charges.
Proceeding as if he still held power on the international level, Maduro said, “Happy New Year” in English to reporters packed into the jury box for space, then again to those in the gallery before greeting his lawyers and taking a seat, according to The Post.
According to The Post, Maduro — infamous for torturing, imprisoning, and starving his countryman while President — almost immediately interrupted his appearance with a proclamation of his innocence when 92-year-old federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein asked him to confirm his identity.
“I’m the president of the Republic of Venezuela. … I am here kidnapped. … I was captured at my home in Caracas, Venezuela,” Maduro said before the judge stopped him.
When he tried to keep speaking, saying that he had been “kidnapped,” Hellerstein interrupted.
“I only want to know one thing,” Judge Hellerstein said. “Are you Nicolás Maduro Moros?”
“I am Nicolás Maduro Moros,” the defendant responded.
Hellerstein formally arraigned Maduro on the charges against him, including a range of narco-terrorism, drug and weapons offenses that could carry the death penalty. Maduro and his wife are charged with working with drug cartels to ship thousands of tons of cocaine into the US for more than 20 years, between 1999 and 2025.
Also, Maduro is charged with narcoterrorism for supposedly working with terror groups, and both are separately charged with “cocaine importation conspiracy.”
🚨BREAKING NEWS
— American USMC Veteran ❤️🇺🇸 (@MarineF18ret) January 3, 2026
7 Explosions- Planned attack on Venezuela’s Military and Meduro’s regime, located in the Capital of Caracas and his regime…. pic.twitter.com/77rCyRSHZW
Save and Share This Catholic Patriotic Minute!
