"I am a Prisoner of War": Nicolás Maduro New York Trial 2026 Begins

The metallic clank of leg shackles echoed through a Manhattan courtroom as Nicolás Maduro, the once-dominant leader of Venezuela, made his first appearance before a U.S. judge on January 5, 2026. Defiant and calm, he told the court he'd been "kidnapped" and identified himself as a president-turned-prisoner of war.

Tensions High at the Nicolás Maduro New York Trial 2026

According to Reuters, the 40-minute arraignment on Monday afternoon saw Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleading not guilty to charges of narco-terrorism and weapons possession. Dressed in standard jail garb, the couple listened through headphones as an interpreter translated the proceedings. "I'm innocent. I'm a decent man," Maduro stated, while his wife quietly requested medical attention for injuries allegedly sustained during their capture on January 3rd.

The courtroom atmosphere reached a boiling point when a member of the public shouted that Maduro would pay for his crimes. The former leader retorted in Spanish, shouting that he's a "prisoner of war" before the man was escorted out. Outside the court, the reality of the U.S. military operation that led to this moment was palpable, with reports of damage to residential areas near the military compound in Caracas.

U.S. Jurisdiction and the Road to March

Judge Alvin Hellerstein set the next hearing for March 17, 2026. For now, the 63-year-old former leader remains in federal custody. The U.S. government maintains that his arrest was part of a surprise overnight operation aimed at dismantling a massive cocaine importation conspiracy involving the highest levels of the Venezuelan government.