Maduro pleads not guilty before the federal court in New York: I am still the president of Venezuela'

"Nicolas Maduro, the deposed president of Venezuela, captured last Saturday in Caracas by U.S. forces and transferred to New York in a lightning military operation, along with his wife, Cilia Flores, has pleaded not guilty to the four drug-related terrorism charges against him in the United States. I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country, Maduro declared through an interpreter, before being interrupted by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, as reported by Reuters."

"The prosecution has accused them of narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. The indictment also extends to his wife, Flores, his son, Nicolas Ernesto Maduro, known as Nicolasito, his Minister of the Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, and other high-ranking officials in his government. Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to all charges."

"The next court hearing is scheduled for March 17. The Chavista leader rejected the accusations during his statement, delivered in Spanish with an interpreter. He alleged that the charges are a strategy to conceal imperialist plans regarding his country's oil reserves, the largest in the world. Maduro and his wife arrived at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse, which houses the Southern District Court, at around 8:00 a.m., heavily escorted by a convoy of DEA vehicles."

Nicolas Maduro, the deposed president of Venezuela, was captured in Caracas and transferred to New York by U.S. forces in a lightning military operation. He and his wife, Cilia Flores, were arraigned in federal court in the Southern District of New York and pleaded not guilty to four drug-related terrorism charges. Prosecutors accuse them of narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. The indictment also targets Maduro’s son, Nicolas Ernesto Maduro, Minister Diosdado Cabello, and other officials. Maduro denied the charges, alleging they conceal imperialist plans concerning Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. The next hearing is March 17.

Read at english.elpais.com