{"id":13012,"date":"2026-01-03T07:03:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T08:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.globaltalenthq.com\/?p=13012"},"modified":"2026-01-05T18:37:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T18:37:35","slug":"maduro-pleads-not-guilty-as-he-appears-before-us-judge-live-updates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.globaltalenthq.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/03\/maduro-pleads-not-guilty-as-he-appears-before-us-judge-live-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"Maduro pleads \u2018not guilty\u2019 as he appears before US judge: Live Updates"},"content":{"rendered":"
The abducted Venezuelan president and his wife have denied the narco-terrorism and smuggling conspiracy charges levied against them<\/strong><\/p>\n Kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have pleaded not guilty to all charges in a New York court on Monday.<\/p>\n The pair were delivered to the federal courthouse in Manhattan for arraignment following their abduction from Caracas by US special forces just days before.<\/p>\n Maduro is facing charges on four counts, including “narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States.”<\/em><\/p>\n When asked by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to introduce himself, Maduro reportedly said that he is the “president of Venezuela,”<\/em> and that he considers himself “a prisoner of war.”<\/em><\/p>\n The Venezuelan leader is reportedly being represented by Barry Pollack, a veteran criminal defense lawyer known for defending Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange in the case that saw him freed.<\/p>\n