Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro made a defiant first appearance in a New York courtroom on Monday (Tuesday in Manila), declaring himself innocent, denouncing his arrest as a “kidnapping” by US forces, and claiming that he remains the president of Venezuela — before being repeatedly cut off by the judge overseeing the case.

Wearing a dark shirt over orange prison fatigues, Maduro entered the packed Manhattan courtroom scanning the gallery and offering greetings in Spanish before bluntly stating, “I am innocent.”

The tension spilled into the public gallery, when a man shouted that Maduro would pay for his crimes. “I am a prisoner of war,” Maduro shot back.

He pleaded not guilty to narcotics and weapons charges stemming from a long-running US indictment, calling himself prisoner of war and accusing Washington of abducting him from Caracas.

“I’m a decent man. I am still president of my country,” Maduro told the court during the roughly 30-minute hearing, using the proceedings to condemn the US military operation that led to his arrest.

Speaking only in Spanish, his remarks were relayed through an interpreter while he listened to the proceedings through headphones.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein, 92, repeatedly curtailed Maduro’s statements when he strayed beyond basic procedural matters.

When Maduro began recounting the circumstances of his arrest, Hellerstein interjected, saying there would be “a time and place” to address those claims.

Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, sat beside him, separated by one of three defense lawyers. Two US marshals stood behind the couple, though no weapons were visible inside the courtroom.

Veteran judge

Outside, security was far heavier, with heavily armed police, metal barricades, and armored transport vehicles underscoring the high-profile nature of the case.

The courthouse was ringed by protesters both condemning and celebrating Maduro’s arrest.

Supporters waved Venezuelan flags and chanted slogans opposing US intervention, while critics across the barricades hailed the court appearance as a long-awaited moment of accountability.

The case is being handled by Hellerstein, one of the most senior judges in the US federal judiciary.

Appointed in 1998, he has presided over numerous high-profile cases, including terrorism-related civil suits arising from the 11 September attacks, major financial fraud prosecutions, and politically sensitive disputes involving US President Donald Trump.

Maduro was indicted in 2020 in a sweeping narco-terrorism case that resulted in the conviction of senior Venezuelan figures, including former intelligence chief Hugo Armando Carvajal.

Prosecutors allege Maduro led a criminal enterprise that trafficked cocaine and conspired with armed groups to flood the United States with drugs.