Nicolás Maduro pleads not guilty to US narco-terrorism charges and claims he is ‘still president’ of Venezuela – live

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Justo Robles

Reporting from outside the courthouse in Manhattan:

Across the street from the federal court, on the other side of the protest area divided by a group of New York police officers, was Izzy McCabe, 21, who arrived this morning in New York all the way from Seattle, Washington.

McCabe is a member of the Freedom Road Socialist organization founded in 1985.

McCabe attended the People’s Assembly for Sovereignty and Peace of Our Americas in Venezuela a few weeks ago, along with thousands of delegates from countries around the world.

“I spoke with Venezuelans in Venezuela and they are committed to resisting US imperialism because they love their country. They want to stay in control of the destiny of their country,” said McCabe, an American-born protester.

“I am here to protest against US intervention and to remind that there are international laws that need to be respected.”

Justo Robles

Reporting from outside the courthouse in Manhattan:

As Nicolás Maduro pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges at the Manhattan federal court, Alejandro Flores joined other Venezuelans in chants that celebrated the detention of the former Latin American dictator.

Flores, a 34-year-old from Caracas, said he was lucky enough to migrate to the US to pursue an education more than a decade ago, but left behind family relatives who struggled economically. Some of them live today in buildings affected by the US attack that ultimately led to Maduro’s detention, Flores said.

“The fact that Maduro is in court means justice is being served. He is the reason Venezuela saw millions of people leaving their country, looking for something to eat,” said Flores, who now lives in Brooklyn.

“I want to see my country free, I want my Colombian wife to visit my country, I want to have the opportunity to celebrate with my family that still lives there, but if you ask me if Venezuela is free, the answer is: not yet. Venezuelans need to decide who they want as president.”

The first courtroom sketch of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in the Manhattan courtroom today has come through the wires.

Here it is:

Delcy Rodríguez, who served as Nicolás Maduro’s vice president, has just been formally sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president, Reuters is reporting.

According to Reuters, Rodríguez was sworn in by her brother Jorge, who is the head of the national assembly legislature.

A Reuters poll of 1,248 US adults nationwide, released Monday, has found that public opinion on only 33% of respondents said they approve of the US military action to remove Maduro while 34% said that they do not.

Another 33% of respondents selected the “don’t know/skipped” option of the questionnaire.

The survey, conducted on Sunday and Monday, found that 65% of Republicans said that they supported the military action, while only 11% of Democrats and 23% of independents said they were in support of it.

When asked “Are you concerned the US will get too involved in Venezuela?” 72% of US adults surveyed said yes, including 54% of Republicans and 90% of Democrats.

The US State Department has posted an image of President Donald Trump on social media overlaid with the words, “This is OUR Hemisphere”.

In an accompanying caption, the State Department stated: “This is OUR Hemisphere, and President Trump will not allow our security to be threatened.”

Earlier today, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, Maduro’s son, delivered remarks before the Venezuelan Assembly, and pledged his support for Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez.

“To you, Delcy Eloína: My unconditional support for the difficult task ahead” he said. “Count on me, count on my family, you can count on our resolve to take the right steps in facing this responsibility that now falls to you, and we stand firm in absolute unity to achieve the objective of peace in Venezuela, to move the country forward, and for the return of Nicolás and Cilia.”

He then turned his remarks to his father, and said: “You made all of us in the family strong people, we are here doing our duty until your return” adding that “The country is in good hands, Dad, and soon we will embrace each other here in Venezuela.”

Oscar Lopez

Reporting from Mexico City:

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday doubled down on Mexico’s opposition to the US attack on Venezuela, and rejected the possibility of an American incursion into Mexico after President Donald Trump suggested the neighboring nation could be next.

“We categorically reject intervention in the internal matters of other countries,” Sheinbaum said. “Mexico firmly maintains that the Americas do not belong to any single doctrine or power.”

Sheinbaum’s comments, which she read at the start of her daily news conference, echoed a statement made Saturday by the Mexican government condemning the US incursion into Venezuela’s capital to capture President Nicolás Maduro.

In the hours after the attack, President Trump suggested during an interview with Fox News that, while the Venezuelan attack was “not meant” as a message to Mexico, the country could be Washington’s next target.

“The cartels are running Mexico, [Sheinbaum’s] not running Mexico,” he said. “Something’s gonna have to be done with Mexico.”

Trump’s remarks are the latest in a long series of threats he has made over the last year to send US troops into Mexico to tackle drug trafficking groups, threats which Sheinbaum has repeatedly rejected.

Shortly after returning to power last year, the Trump administration designated several Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. The designation “allows us to now target what they’re operating and to use other elements of American power, intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense... to target these groups,” secretary of state Marco Rubio said last August.

When asked about Trump’s latest comments on Monday, Sheinbaum was once again emphatic.

“I don’t believe in an invasion; I don’t even think it’s something they’re taking very seriously,” Sheinbaum told reporters. “On several occasions, [Trump] has insisted that the US Army be allowed to enter Mexico. We have said no very firmly — first because we defend our sovereignty, and second because it is not necessary.”

Still, Sheinbaum was careful to emphasize that Mexico had developed a good relationship with Washington to tackle drug trafficking groups, one based on “mutual respect and confidence, cooperation without subordination.”

The Mexican leader’s response to Trump’s attack on Venezuela was also relatively cautious, particularly when compared to other Latin American countries, according to Tony Payan, a Mexico expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, reflecting Sheinbaum’s need to both appeal to the base of her party while not upsetting US-Mexico relations.

“She’s stuck between a rock and a hard place,” he said. “Between her own natural tendencies to side with the anti-American authoritarian left and the necessity of Mexico to continue full access to American markets and capital…it’s a way of tepidly protesting something that she knows she can’t oppose.”

Victoria Bekiempis

Reporting from the courtroom:

Both Maduro and his wife listened to the proceedings through headphones, as they were provided a live translation from Spanish to English. While the Venezuelan strong-man was deposed in an inglorious US military raid, his larger-than-life persona was striking in Hellerstein’s courtroom.

Asked to confirm his name, Maduro said “I am Nicolas Maduro Moros” but then started ranting about his political position. Maduro insisted at various points that he was the president of Venezuela and said he was “kidnapped” in a military incursion.

The judge told Maduro that there would be a time and a place to make these arguments. Maduro entered a fulsome not guilty plea shortly thereafter—voicing both a soy innocente and a no soy culpable.

Here are some images that are coming in of the scenes outside of the Manhattan courthouse where Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, made their appearance today.

Congress returns with classified briefing on Venezuela from top Trump officials

The Senate is back in session today, with the House set to return tomorrow.

Later, top administration officials, including attorney general Pam Bondi, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, and chairman of the join chiefs of staff Dan Caine, will provide a classified briefing for Republican and Democratic congressional leaders about the January military strikes in Venezuela that saw the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, according to a source familiar with the upcoming meeting.

Members of the administration will speak with the “Gang of Eight” – the informal name of leaders of both parties in both chambers of Congress, as well as the chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House intelligence committees.

As of Sunday, the lawmakers, who are traditionally consulted on national security issues, had yet to be contacted. “Still haven’t got a phone call,” said Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee. He told CNN: “I’m a member of the gang of eight, and I have yet to get a phone call from anyone from the administration.”

Congressional leaders on both the House and Senate armed services and foreign affairs committees will also be present at today’s briefing from Trump officials.

My colleague, Victoria Bekiempis, was in the courtroom today, and sends this dispatch:

At 12 pm, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were escorted into Manhattan federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein’s courtroom following their capture early Saturday in Caracas.

Maduro, who was not handcuffed but was in ankle shackles, wore a blue shirt on top of a neon orange shirt, with khaki pants. Cilia’s outfit reflected a similar color-scheme, but there was one notable difference about her appearance: She had two large band-aids on her face. One was on Flores’ temple and the other, her forehead.

Maduro: 'I am still president of my country'

One notable point throughout today’s hearing– which is typically a dry procedural affair where the charges are presented to the defendant and they are able to enter their plea – is the extra comments from both Maduro and Flores.

Both attempted to directly refute the Trump administration’s long-held stance that the Maduro’s presidency is fundamentally illegitimate. At one point, the captured leader said that he was “still president of my country”, while Flores identified herself as “first lady of the Republic of Venezuela”.

Today’s hearing has now concluded, but judge Hellerstein noted that the next hearing will take place on 17 March at 11am ET.

Maduro and wife will not seek bail at this time

Lawyers for both Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, said that their clients won’t seek bail at this time. The attorneys added that they’ll seek an application at a later date.

Maduro's wife, Cilia Flores, pleads not guilty to drug-conspiracy charges

After her husband’s plea, Cilia Flores also pleaded not guilty today.

She identified herself as the “first lady of the Republic of Venezuela” and said she is “not guilty, completely innocent” after making her plea.