Maduro pleads not guilty in narco-terrorism case in US court

Bob Van Voris and David Voreacos, Bloomberg News on Jan 5, 2026

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NEW YORK — Ousted Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro pleaded not guilty Monday to U.S. charges in a narco-terrorism case against him, kicking off an extraordinary legal battle with major geopolitical ramifications.

“I am innocent,” Maduro said through an interpreter. “I am a decent man,” adding that he is the president of his country.

In an indictment released over the weekend, the U.S. government accused Maduro of conspiring to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the country. The toppling of Maduro reverberated around the world and signaled President Donald Trump’s willingness to reconfigure the global order.

After Maduro was captured in the military operation early Saturday, he and his wife were transported to the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. On Monday morning, he arrived by helicopter at a Manhattan heliport before he was taken to the courthouse for the hearing.

Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, who was also in court, pleaded not guilty to the three charges she faces. Both were wearing headphones in court for translation purposes. The hearing began with the judge reading the charges against Maduro and his wife.

Flores stated her name and said: “I am first lady of Venezuela.” She then declared she is “completely innocent.”

Legal Rights

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, 92, is presiding over the case and may oversee an eventual trial before a jury of New York citizens. Lawyers for Maduro and his wife said they may seek bail at a later date.

“At this this point in time, I only want to know one thing. Are you Nicolas Maduro Moros?" the judge asked at the hearing. Maduro stood as an interpreter repeated the question and the ousted president confirmed his identity. He then waived a public reading of the indictment in court.

Hellerstein then read Maduro his legal rights, including that he has a right to a lawyer and a right to remain silent.

Maduro entered not guilty pleas to the four charges he faces — narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns, and conspiracy to possess machine guns. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Before the hearing, court filings showed Maduro would be represented in the hearing by Barry Pollack, a Washington defense lawyer whose former clients include Julian Assange. His wife’s team includes Houston lawyer Mark E. Donnelly.

The indictment alleges Maduro remained in power despite losing the 2024 election, making him the “de facto but illegitimate ruler of the country.” Maduro “sits atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking,” the U.S. alleges.

Sovereign Nation

Maduro’s lawyers are expected to argue that he is immune from prosecution as the leader of a sovereign nation. Maduro has denied being involved in the drug trade.

“Mr. Maduro is the head of a sovereign state, and he’s entitled to the privileges that go with that,” Pollack said. He said Maduro will also contest the circumstances of his arrest.

Pollack also said Maduro has “health and medical issues” that must be addressed. Donnelly also said that Maduro’s wife suffered “significant injuries” during the arrest.

The hearing lasted for about half an hour, after which Maduro and his wife were lead out of the courtroom. He was wearing shackles at the ankles, khaki pants and orange shoes. The judge set another hearing for March 17.

Brooklyn Jail

At his new temporary cell in Brooklyn, Maduro is likely being held under the jail’s most restrictive conditions. At MDC, high-risk detainees are typically placed in special housing, where confinement can stretch to 23 hours a day. Movement outside the cell is tightly controlled.

The MDC is the only federal jail in New York as the Bureau of Prisons closed Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2021 to address deteriorating conditions. Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in the MCC in 2019.

For years, the hulking concrete jail has drawn sharp criticism from judges, lawyers and watchdogs. In 2024, one judge bluntly dubbed the conditions at New York City’s only federal jail as “dreadful in many respects.” Another described them as “dangerous, barbaric.”