Deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty to charges of narco-terrorism in a New York court on Monday, two days after being snatched by US forces in a stunning raid on his home in Caracas. The deposed leader and his wife made their court appearance just days after being seized in Caracas, in a shock US military operation that paved the path for Washington\u2019s plans to control the oil-rich country. Maduro, 63, faces narcotrafficking charges along with his wife, Cilia Flores. The pair were forcibly taken out of Caracas in a US assault on Saturday, in which commandos swooped in on helicopters, backed by fighter jets and naval forces, to capture them. He told a federal judge in Manhattan that he had been \u201ckidnapped\u201d from Venezuela and said \u201cI\u2019m innocent, I\u2019m not guilty,\u201d US media reported. \u201cI\u2019m still the president of my country,\u201d he was quoted as saying. Flores likewise pleaded not guilty. This morning, Maduro was escorted by heavily armed law enforcement officers to a courthouse in New York, having been transported by helicopter and armoured car. All eyes are on Venezuela\u2019s response to the swiftly moving events, and late Sunday, interim leader Delcy Rodriguez stepped back from her initial defiance by offering to work with Trump. \u201cWe extend an invitation to the US government to work together on an agenda for cooperation,\u201d the former vice president said. Some 2,000 Maduro supporters, including rifle-wielding men on motorcycles, rallied Sunday in Caracas, with crowds shouting and waving Venezuelan flags. The Venezuelan military, loyal to Maduro, announced it recognised Rodriguez and urged calm. No Venezuela death toll has been announced, but Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said a \u201clarge part\u201d of Maduro\u2019s security team was killed \u201cin cold blood\u201d, as well as military personnel and civilians. Trump said late on Sunday that the United States was \u201cin charge\u201d of the South American nation, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that discussions of Venezuela holding elections following Maduro\u2019s ouster were \u201cpremature.\u201d \u2018Need access to oil\u2019 When asked what he needs from interim leader Rodriguez, Trump said: \u201cWe need total access. We need access to the oil and other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country.\u201d Venezuela has the world\u2019s largest proven oil reserves, and more Venezuelan crude in the market could exacerbate oversupply concerns and add to recent pressure on prices. But analysts say that alongside other major questions about the South American country\u2019s future, substantially lifting its oil production will not be easy, quick or cheap. Oil dipped as investors weighed the impact. The Trump administration says it retains economic leverage by blockading oil tankers from Venezuela. Trump has also threatened additional military attacks. While there are no known US forces left inside Venezuela, a huge naval presence, including an aircraft carrier, remains off the coast. Leading opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia said that while the US intervention was \u201cimportant,\u201d without the release of political prisoners and acknowledgement that he won the 2024 election, it was simply \u201cnot enough.\u201d Details of the US operation were still emerging Monday, with Havana saying 32 Cubans were killed in the attack and Trump adding that Cuba itself was ready to fall after Maduro\u2019s capture. \u201cI don\u2019t think we need any action. It looks like it\u2019s going down,\u201d Trump said. The UN Security Council will hold an emergency session on Monday at Venezuela\u2019s request. Maduro allies remain The White House indicated Sunday that it does not want regime change, only Maduro\u2019s removal and a pliant new government \u2014 even if it is filled with his former associates. Anointed by his mentor Hugo Chavez before the latter\u2019s 2013 death, Maduro kept a tight grip on power until his capture by US forces on Saturday. He ruled alongside Flores and three other powerful figures: Rodriguez, now Venezuela\u2019s interim leader, her brother Jorge, and their rival, hardline Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. \u201cIt\u2019s like a club of five,\u201d a diplomatic source in Caracas told AFP under the condition of anonymity. The US position leaves the Venezuelan opposition, which the Trump administration says was robbed of victory by Maduro, out in the cold. China, Russia and Iran, which have longstanding ties with Maduro\u2019s government, were quick to condemn the operation. Some US allies, including the EU, expressed alarm. China called for Maduro to be \u201cimmediately released\u201d in a condemnation of the US operation, which its foreign ministry said was a \u201cclear violation of international law.\u201d Iran said on Monday that its relations with close ally Venezuela remained unchanged and called for Maduro\u2019s release. Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whose country neighbours Venezuela, called the US action an \u201cassault on the sovereignty\u201d of Latin America, which would lead to a humanitarian crisis. Petro rejected threats on Sunday of military action in Colombia made by Trump, who also accused the South American leader of drug trafficking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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