"Venezuelan New Yorkers gathered outside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in Manhattan on Jan. 5, with many people singing, crying and smiling as Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores faced charges of narcotics trafficking and machine gun possession. Maduro and Flores pleaded not-guilty to the charges during their arraignment on Monday, with Maduro alleging that he had been "kidnapped" by US forces. "I am innocent. I am not guilty of anything mentioned here," Maduro said in court. "I am a decent man.""
"Maduro and Flores were arrested Jan. 3 after U.S. forces invaded Venezuela and seized the couple in their home in a military base in Caracas, an unprecedented move that caused shockwaves across the international community. It was the nature of that arrest which caused elected officials across Queens to react with mixed emotions to Maduro's capture. Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, for example, described the arrest of Maduro as "toppling a dictator" but added that it is "deeply concerning" that President Donald Trump had allegedly violated international law."
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were arrested on Jan. 3 after U.S. forces entered Venezuela and seized them at their home on a Caracas military base. Both were arraigned in New York on U.S.-issued narco-terror charges including narcotics trafficking and machine gun possession and pleaded not guilty. Maduro alleged he had been "kidnapped" by U.S. forces and proclaimed his innocence in court. Venezuelan New Yorkers gathered in Manhattan, with many singing, crying and smiling as the couple faced charges. Elected officials in Queens expressed mixed reactions, praising the removal of a dictator while warning that the operation may violate international law and set a dangerous precedent.
Read at QNS
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