In a dramatic legal development, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores have entered not guilty pleas against sweeping U.S. federal charges encompassing narcoterrorism, cocaine importation conspiracies, and weapons possession offenses. This courtroom appearance followed an extraordinary operation conducted by U.S. military teams that resulted in the couple’s transfer from Venezuelan territory to New York for prosecution, an action Venezuelan authorities have condemned as a sovereign violation.
The high-profile defendants appeared before Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan’s federal court under intense security arrangements, having been transported from Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center for the proceedings. The hearing initiates what legal experts anticipate will be extensive judicial proceedings potentially stretching over several months.
President Maduro has retained Barry Pollack, a distinguished trial attorney renowned for representing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and negotiating his 2024 release agreement. Flores is represented by Texas-based counsel Mark Donnelly, according to official court documentation. Both defense teams are currently pursuing bail arrangements for their clients.
The indictment, unsealed last Saturday, names four additional co-defendants including Maduro’s son and Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. The case represents the culmination of what U.S. officials describe as sustained pressure campaign against Caracas, though Venezuelan leadership has characterized the extraction operation as an unlawful kidnapping following President Donald Trump’s characterization of the action as a “full-scale attack on Venezuela and its leader.”