Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro entered a plea of not guilty to charges of narco-terrorism in a Manhattan federal court on Monday, defiantly telling the judge he had been “kidnapped” by the United States.
The courtroom appearance came just 48 hours after U.S. forces executed a stunning military raid on Maduro’s residence in Caracas, spiriting him and his wife, Cilia Flores, who also pleaded not guilty, out of the country.
“I’m innocent, I’m not guilty,” Maduro, 63, was quoted as saying by U.S. media. “I’m still the president of my country.”
The operation, backed by warplanes and a heavy naval deployment in the Caribbean over the weekend, marks an unprecedented escalation by the Trump administration and has sent shockwaves through international diplomacy.
In a series of announcements, President Donald Trump declared the United States is now effectively running Venezuela, with an explicit aim to rebuild and control the nation’s vast but crippled oil industry—the world’s largest proven reserves.
“We need total access. We need access to the oil and other things in their country that allows us to rebuild their country,” Trump stated.
The move has triggered a fierce international backlash. At an emergency UN Security Council meeting, Secretary-General António Guterres stressed the need for “respect for the principles of sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity.”
Regional leaders voiced outrage. Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla, issued a fiery statement saying he was ready to “take up arms” against Trump, who in turn told Petro to “watch his ass.” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum declared the Americas “do not belong” to anyone.
Back in Venezuela, the political landscape remains volatile. Approximately 2,000 Maduro supporters rallied in Caracas, while deputies in the National Assembly chanted in his support. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president, has shifted from defiance to an offer of “cooperation” with Washington.
The end of a quarter-century of socialist rule leaves Venezuela’s 30 million people facing profound uncertainty. While some Venezuelan expatriates celebrated Maduro’s downfall as a “gift,” protesters outside the New York courthouse condemned U.S. intervention.
Meanwhile, U.S. oil majors Chevron, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips saw their shares surge on Wall Street as markets reacted to the potential opening of Venezuela’s energy sector.
Details of the raid continue to emerge, with Havana reporting that 32 Cubans were killed during the operation. U.S. officials confirmed some American service members were wounded, but none were killed.
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