Venezuelan Dictator Makes First US Court Appearance In NYC

NEW YORK CITY — Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores appeared at a Manhattan federal court on Monday following their capture over the weekend.

Maduro and Flores appeared before US District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein around noon. The deposed Venezuelan leader pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States.

Maduro and others are accused of working with drug cartels to get thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S., authorities said.

On Saturday, the couple was taken into custody at a compound in Caracas by U.S. Forces after “Operation Absolute Resolve." They were then flown to New York and have been put in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center — where Sean “Diddy” Combs and accused UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione are being held.

President Trump has said the U.S. would “run” Venezuela temporarily. The U.S. is also enforcing an existing ” oil quarantine.”

If found guilty, Maduro could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, has demanded that the U.S. return Maduro.

Here's the latest:

UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Monday after the US raid in Venezuela

The top United Nations official warns America may have violated international law with its unilateral action.

In a statement, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he remains “deeply concerned that rules of international law have not been respected with regard to the 3 January military action.”

He added that that the “grave” action by the U.S. could set a precedent for how future relations between and among states are conducted.

Protesters have begun gathering outside the courthouse

The small but growing group of about 50 protesters across the street from Manhattan federal court were separated by New York Police Department community service officers from about a dozen pro-intervention demonstrators.

The officers used bicycle rack-style metal barricades to separate the two groups.

“No War For Venezuelan Oil,” “No To Criminal Trump Invasion” and “No Blood For Oil” were among the signs. One man among a small group of about a dozen pro-intervention individuals pulled a Venezuelan flag away from those protesting the U.S. action.

Demonstrators were observed, recorded and interviewed by some of the more than 100 members of the media who had reserved their places outside hours earlier.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will head to Capitol Hill to brief congressional leaders

Rubio and other top Trump administration officials will be discussing the Venezuela situation Monday evening with House and Senate leadership of the “gang of eight,” which includes top members of the Intelligence committees. The chairmen and ranking leaders of the other national security committees are also invited.

The Democratic leaders in Congress, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, had publicly called for the briefing after leadership was largely kept in the dark about the surprise weekend operation capturing Maduro — despite Congress’s role in approving or rejecting certain military actions.

A war powers resolution that would prohibit further US military involvement in Venezuela without congressional approval is headed toward a vote this week in the Senate.

As a defendant in the US legal system, Maduro will have the same rights as anyone else

That includes the right to a trial by a jury of regular New Yorkers. But he’ll also be nearly — but not quite — unique.

Maduro’s lawyers are expected to contest the legality of his arrest, arguing that he’s immune from prosecution as a sovereign head of state.

Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriegaunsuccessfully tried the same defense after the U.S. captured him in a similar military invasion in 1990. But the U.S. doesn’t recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state — particularly after a much-disputed 2024 reelection.

Who is the judge who’ll be presiding over Maduro’s court appearance?

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein has handled numerous weighty cases in his nearly three decades on the bench, including matters involving Trump, the 9/11 attacks and Sudanese genocide.
Now, the 92-year-old Manhattan jurist is presiding over what could be his biggest case yet. Hellerstein is set to arraign Maduro and Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, at noon Monday, kickstarting a judicial assignment that was on hold for six years as Maduro eluded arrest after U.S. prosecutors first indicted him.

In the meantime, Hellerstein has been presiding over cases involving some of Maduro’s co-defendants.

In April 2024, the judge sentenced retired Venezuelan army general Cliver Alcalá to more than 21 years in prison. On Feb. 23, he’s scheduled to sentence a former Venezuelan spymaster, Retired Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.