Maduro says 'I was captured' as he pleads not guilty to drug trafficking charges
This image taken from video shows Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro being escorted to board a helicopter for transport to Manhattan Federal Court, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in New York. (WABC via AP)
EW YORK (AP) — A defiant Nicolás Maduro declared himself "the president of my country” as he protested his capture and pleaded not guilty Monday to federal drug trafficking charges that the Trump administration used to justify removing him from power in Venezuela.
“I was captured,” Maduro said in Spanish as translated by a courtroom reporter before being cut off by the judge. Asked later for his plea to the charges, he stated: "I’m innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country.”
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