Former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro will remain in custody in a federal prison in New York and will have to appear again before the United States justice system on March 17, according to the decision of Judge Alvin Hellerstein after the first hearing held this Monday in a federal court in Manhattan.
During the hearing, Maduro faced four federal charges, mainly linked to international drug trafficking, and pleaded not guilty. Dressed in a prison uniform, an orange T-jersey and beige pants, the Chavista leader insisted on a victimhood staging by claiming that he is still the president of Venezuela and that he was "kidnapped" during the United States operation that led to his capture.
"I am not guilty, I am a decent man, I am still the president of my country," he stated in Spanish before the magistrate, before describing himself as a "prisoner of war". The judge interrupted his statement and asked him to limit himself to confirming his identity, clarifying that later he will be able to make the statements he deems appropriate.
Drug trafficking charges and family reach
The formal accusation is not limited to Maduro. It also extends to his wife, Cilia Flores, who pleaded not guilty, and to other central figures of Chavismo, among them:
- Nicolás Maduro Guerra ("Nicolasito")
- Diosdado Cabello, interior minister
- A drug kingpin currently on the run
All of them are accused of their alleged participation in a cocaine trafficking network to the United States, one of the financial pillars of the Chavista regime for years.
Political transition and Washington's support
The hearing coincided with the installation of the new Parliament in Caracas, where Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as president of the Chavista regime, after an order from the Supreme Court of Justice that assigned her an initial 90-day mandate, extendable. Rodríguez, until now vice president, was placed at the head of the Executive in a context of extreme political fragility.
