US EditionMaduro represented by Julian Assange’s attorney Barry Pollack
Maduro and his wife denied charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking following a U.S. military operation; next court date set for March 17, court records show.
- On Jan. 5, 2026, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores appeared in federal court in lower Manhattan, with Barry J. Pollack appearing as Maduro's attorney.
- A superseding indictment unsealed Jan. 3 accuses Maduro, his wife and others of narco-terrorism, cocaine-importation conspiracy and weapons offenses, and they were brought to the U.S. after capture by U.S. forces in what President Donald Trump called `a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader`.
- Barry J. Pollack, partner at Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler LLP, oversaw Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder's long U.S. legal matter culminating in a 2024 plea deal and has more than 30 years' experience securing acquittals including Michael Krautz.
- Maduro and Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty at the arraignment, and the court set a follow-up hearing for March 17 with U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein presiding.
- Handled by the Southern District of New York, the prosecution team includes Jay Clayton, who signed the indictment; court filings by Nicholas Sutherland Bradley sought pen registers, and co-defendants include Maduro's son and Diosdado Cabello.
492 Articles
492 Articles
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearing
What happenedDeposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro Monday pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy in a Manhattan courtroom, striking a defiant tone in his first public appearance since the Trump administration seized him and his wife from Caracas in a U.S. military raid. His wife, Cilia Flores, also pleaded not guilty.Maduro told the court through a translator that he was “kidnapped” and is a “decent man, the …
der Standard AT
der Standard DEAfter the abducted leader Nicolás Maduro pleaded "not guilty" in the USA, the nervousness grows in the diaspora – also in the manageable community in Austria
During the first hearing in New York in the case against kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, the defendants declared their innocence and accused the US government of kidnapping them from their home, CNN reports.
New York and Washington. Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were brought before a federal court in New York where they heard the charges against him, declared themselves “not guilty” and the Venezuelan president accused him of being kidnapped and claimed that he considered himself “a prisoner of war.”
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