By Admin 
Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro told a US court that he is innocent and considers himself a prisoner of war. America has captured him and brought him to New York for trial on drug-related terrorism charges. On Monday (January 5, 2026), he was presented in the court for the first time amid tight security. During the hearing, he said through a translator, ‘I am a kidnapped president. I am a prisoner of war.
In a precise military operation on Saturday morning, US Delta Force soldiers detained Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from a military base in Venezuela and brought them to New York by air. This hearing held in the court was formal. During this, both Maduro and his wife rejected all the allegations made in the 25-page charge sheet and declared themselves innocent.
Maduro said, ‘I am innocent. I have not committed any crime. I am a decent person and am still the President of my country. Cilia Flores also told the court, ‘I am the First Lady of the Republic of Venezuela.’ When Maduro started talking about his kidnapping, Judge Alvin Hellerstein stopped him and told him that all he had to do was reveal his identity to the court.
Maduro’s lawyer Barry Pollock told the court that he could raise the question of whether the arrest of a country’s president is legal or not, because he should have sovereign immunity, and also how legal is his military capture. At the same time, US President Donald Trump and Foreign Minister Marco Rubio have said that the action to bring Maduro was a process of law enforcement, not a war.
Maduro and Flores are being held in a federal detention center, whose conditions have been criticized by the judge himself. Maduro, once a strict ruler, now looked like an ordinary prisoner. He was wearing simple clothes and was accompanied by security personnel. When entering the courtroom, Maduro, surrounded by US marshals, greeted everyone in Spanish with “Buenos Dias”, meaning good day.
Cilia Flores had a bandage on her forehead. His lawyer Mark Donnelly said that he was injured when captured by American forces and some of his ribs may be broken. The main charges against Maduro and Flores include a narco-terrorism conspiracy, allegedly using the Venezuelan military and intelligence agencies to smuggle cocaine into the United States. For this reason, he has been accused of conspiracy to commit drug-related terrorism.
To strengthen these allegations, he has also been accused of possessing a machine gun and dangerous weapons. Apart from this, he is also accused of collaborating with terrorist organizations in Colombia. Some of the charges against Maduro are such that if proven guilty, he could face even the death penalty.
A case of money laundering has also been registered against Maduro for diverting drug proceeds. Cilia Flores has also been accused of taking bribes related to drug trafficking gangs.
Also read:-
Manohara Odelia Case: ‘That marriage was not forced’, Indonesian model’s big revelation on her relationship with Malaysian prince