Olayiwola Matthew
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.
Maduro, 63, told a federal judge in Manhattan that he had been “kidnapped” from Venezuela and said “I’m innocent, I’m not guilty,” US media reported.
“I’m still the president of my country,” he was quoted as saying.
Maduro’s wife Cilia Flores likewise pleaded not guilty.
The pair were snatched by US commandos in the early hours of Saturday in an assault backed by warplanes and a heavy naval deployment.
In a series of shock announcements over the weekend, President Donald Trump declared that the United States is now running Venezuela with an eye to rebuilding and controling its huge but decrepit oil industry.