Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro appeared visibly surprised Monday after learning of the constitutional rights afforded to criminal defendants in the American legal system during his first court appearance.
During the hearing, Maduro indicated he was previously unaware that he was entitled to legal counsel, had the right to remain silent, could seek bail, and that statements made outside the presence of an attorney could be excluded from evidence.
According to a transcript of the exchange provided by reporters present in the courtroom, the interaction unfolded as follows:
Judge Alvin Hellerstein: Are you Nicolás Maduro Moros?
Maduro: (In Spanish, via Inner City Press interpretation) I am the president of Venezuela. I consider myself a prisoner of war. I was captured at my home in Caracas.
Judge: Let me intervene. There will be time for this.
Judge: I only want to know, are you Nicolás Maduro Moros?
Maduro: Yes.
Judge: Have you been served the indictment?
Defense Lawyer: We waive public reading.
Maduro: I have it in my hands for the first time. I prefer to read it personally.
Judge: Anything you say may be used against you. I see you have counsel, Mr. Pollack, here. If you cannot afford an attorney, the government will provide one free of charge. Did you know of these rights?
Maduro: I did not know of these rights until now.
Judge: How do you plead?
Maduro: I am innocent. I am a decent man. I am president—
Defense Lawyer: It is a plea of not guilty to all counts.
Judge: Bridget— (addressing the courtroom deputy) She will arraign you.
Deputy: Have you seen the indictment?
Maduro: Seen, but not read.
Deputy: Have you discussed it with your lawyer?
Maduro: Partially.
Deputy: How do you plead?
Maduro: I am innocent. I am not guilty of anything that is mentioned here.
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President Donald Trump has threatened Colombian President Gustavo Petro with possible military action, while his Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that Cuba is “ready to fall,” just a day after U.S. forces captured Maduro in a surprise raid.
Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump accused Petro of overseeing a “sick country” driven by cocaine exports and warned his rule would not last long.
“The government in Bogotá is run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States,” Trump said. “And he’s not going to be doing it very long. Let me tell you.”
When pressed if that meant military action, Trump replied, “Sounds good to me.”
Petro shot back on X, denouncing Trump’s remarks as “slander” and urging Latin America to unite or “be treated as servants and slaves.” He accused Washington of bombing a South American capital “for the first time in human history” following the U.S. abduction of Maduro.
The Venezuelan leader and his wife were seized early Saturday by U.S. Special Forces in Caracas and flown to New York, where they face narcoterrorism and drug-trafficking charges. The operation, which disabled parts of Venezuela’s air defenses, came under immediate international fire. Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Spain called it a “dangerous precedent for peace,” while Argentina’s Javier Milei praised the fall of a dictatorship.
At Mar-a-Lago, Trump said the United States would temporarily run Venezuela until a “safe and proper transition” could occur. He announced that U.S. oil companies would enter the country to restore its shattered energy sector — a plan critics said revealed Washington’s interest in controlling the world’s largest petroleum reserves.
