‘I’m kidnapped, prisoner of war’: Maduro tells US federal court
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New York: Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan leader who was captured by the US and brought here, accused of narco-terrorism charges, told a federal judge that he is innocent and is a “prisoner of war”.
Brought to court under heavy security on Monday for his first hearing, he said through a translator, “I am a kidnapped president. I am a prisoner of war”, IANS reported.
US Delta Force troops took him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from a military base in Venezuela in a precise operation on Saturday morning and flew them to New York.
During the court hearing, which was procedural, both said they were innocent of the allegations against them in the 25-page charge sheet.
“I’m innocent. I’m not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still the president of my country,” Maduro said.
“I am the first lady of the Republic of Venezuela,” Flores told the court, equally.
As Maduro started to talk about being kidnapped, Judge Alvin Hellerstein interrupted him and said he only needed to identify himself to the court.
Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, told the court that he might raise the legality of arresting a head of state, who would have sovereign immunity, and the legality of his “military abduction”.
Both President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have claimed that the action to bring down Maduro was law enforcement and not a war.
Maduro and Flores, who are housed in a federal lockup which has been criticised by judges themselves for its appalling conditions, were brought from there by a chopper to a heliport near the court and brought there in a high-security convoy.
Maduro, who had ruled his country with an iron fist, was reduced to a common prisoner in the way he was treated by his guards and the ordinary garb he wore, even if he was flown in on a helicopter for security reasons.
As he entered the courtroom, flanked by US Marshals, Maduro wished everyone, “Buenos dias” -- “Good day” in Spanish.
Flores had bandages on her forehead, and her lawyer, Mark Donnelly, told the court that she had been injured when US forces seized her and may have broken ribs.