""I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country," Mr Maduro (63) said through an interpreter, before being cut off by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan Federal Court. Mr Maduro's wife Cilia Flores also pleaded not guilty. The next court date was set for March 17. Dozens of protesters, both pro- and anti-Maduro, gathered outside the courthouse before the half-hour hearing."
"Mr Maduro is accused of overseeing a cocaine-trafficking network that partnered with violent groups including Mexico's Sinaloa and Zetas cartels, Colombian Farc rebels and Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang. He faces four criminal counts: narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. Mr Maduro has long denied the allegations, saying they were a mask for imperialist designs on Venezuela's rich oil reserves."
"Hours later in Caracas, Mr Maduro's vice-president Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as Venezuela's interim president with words of support for Mr Maduro but no indication she would fight the US move. "I come with pain in my heart over the kidnapping of two heroes who are being held hostage," she said, pledging to move Venezuela forward in "these terrible times"."
Nicolás Maduro appeared in Manhattan Federal Court and pleaded not guilty, with his wife Cilia Flores also pleading not guilty and a next court date set for March 17. Dozens of protesters gathered outside the courthouse. In Caracas, Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president and pledged to move Venezuela forward while expressing pain over kidnapped individuals. Maduro is accused of overseeing a cocaine-trafficking network linked to Sinaloa, Zetas, FARC rebels and Tren de Aragua, and faces counts including narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy, and illegal weapons possession. Maduro denies the allegations and calls them a pretext for seizing oil; U.S. political and economic reactions followed, and the UN Security Council debated and saw international condemnation from several countries.
Read at Irish Independent
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