Venezuela’s Maduro back in US court after stunning capture

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Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro will appear Thursday in a New York court for the second time since his capture by US forces in an extraordinary nighttime raid.

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Maduro, 63, and wife Cilia Flores have been held in a Brooklyn jail for almost three months after American commandos snatched the pair from their compound in Caracas in early January.

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The stunning operation deposed the strongman who had led Venezuela since 2013 and has since forced the oil-rich country to largely bend to the will of US President Donald Trump.

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Maduro has declared himself a “prisoner of war” and pleaded not guilty to the four counts of “narco-terrorism” conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

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Thursday’s hearing at 11:00 am (1500 GMT) will likely see Maduro push for the dismissal of his case as lawyers tussle over who will pay the former leader’s legal fees.

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Venezuela’s government is seeking to cover the costs, but because of Washington’s sanctions, his lawyer Barry Pollack must obtain a US license that has not been issued.

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Pollack argued in a court submission that the license requirement violated Maduro’s constitutional right to legal representation and demanded the case be thrown out on procedural grounds.

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– Deadly raid –

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Detained in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal prison known for unsanitary conditions, Maduro is reportedly alone in a cell with no access to the internet or newspapers.

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A source close to the Venezuelan government said the incarcerated Maduro reads the Bible and is referred to as “president” by some of his fellow detainees.

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He is only allowed to communicate by phone with his family and lawyers for a maximum of 15 minutes per call, the source added.

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“The lawyers told us he is strong. He said we must not be sad,” said his son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, adding his father told him: “We are fine, we are fighters.”

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Maduro and his wife were forcibly taken by US commandos in the early hours of January 3 in airstrikes on the Venezuelan capital backed by warplanes and a heavy naval deployment.

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At least 83 people died and more than 112 people were injured in the assault, according to Venezuelan officials. No US service members were killed.

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– US pressure –

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At his first US court appearance in January, Maduro struck a defiant tone as he identified himself the president of Venezuela despite being captured.

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The South American country is now led by Delcy Rodriguez, who had been Maduro’s vice president since 2018.

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Under US pressure, she is grappling with leading a country saddled with the world’s largest proven oil reserves but an economy in shambles.

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Rodriguez has since enacted a historic amnesty law to free political prisoners jailed under Maduro and reformed oil and mining regulations in line with US demands for access to her country’s vast natural wealth.

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This month, the State Department said it was restoring diplomatic ties with Venezuela in a sign of thawing relations.

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Security is expected to be heightened around the New York courthouse for Thursday’s hearing.

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Presiding over the case is Alvin Hellerstein, a 92-year-old judge credited with overseeing several high-profile trials during his decades on the bench.

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AFP

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