Maduro Tells Judge He Was Kidnapped

Nicolas Maduro made his first appearance Monday in an American courtroom on the narco-terrorism charges the Trump administration used to justify capturing him and bringing him to New York. Maduro and his wife appeared before US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan for a brief, but required, legal proceeding that will likely kick off a prolonged legal fight over whether he can be put on trial in the US. Maduro, through an interpreter, identified himself to the judge as the president of Venezuela, saying, "I was kidnapped," the New York Times reports. When asked for his plea, Maduro said, "I'm innocent. I'm not guilty. I am a decent man," adding, "I am still president of my country."

Following Maduro's plea, Hellerstein turned to Maduro's wife and asked her to confirm her identity, the AP reports. After confirming her name, Cilia Flores said, through an interpreter: "I am first lady of the Republic of Venezuela. Asked to enter a plea, she responded: "Not guilty. Completely innocent."

• At one point, Maduro said he had not yet read the indictment against him and had not been informed of his rights. "I did not know of these rights," he said through the interpreter. "Your honor is informing me of them now."

• Near the end of the hearing, attorney Barry J. Pollack said his client "is head of a sovereign state and entitled to the privilege" that the status ensures. Pollack said there were "questions about the legality of his military abduction" and that there would be "voluminous" pretrial filings to address those legal challenges.
• Court proceedings ended at 12:31pm after attorney Mark Donnelly, on behalf of Cilia Flores, said that his client sustained "health and medical issues that will require attention." Donnelly said that Flores, 69, may have a fracture or severe bruising on her ribs and may need a full X-ray.
• Both Maduro and Flores agreed to remain detained for now, the AP reports. Their attorneys could revisit a bail application at a later date.
• The Times reports that as Maduro was leaving the courtroom, he said, in Spanish, "I am a prisoner of war."
• Pollack is best known for representing Julian Assange, the BBC reports. The many cases Hellerstein, 92, has dealt with include Trump's hush money trial.