Toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty on Monday to narcotics charges after President Donald Trump’s stunning capture of him rattled world leaders and left officials in Caracas scrambling to regroup. I am still president of my country,” Maduro, 63, said through an interpreter, before being cut off by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan federal court. Maduro’s wife Cilia Flores also pleaded not guilty. Maduro is accused of overseeing a cocaine-trafficking network with international drug cartels and faces four criminal counts: narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. Maduro has long denied the allegations, saying they were a mask for imperialist designs on Venezuela’s rich oil reserves.

Source: The Patriot January 06, 2026 09:02 UTC