Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was interrupted by a Manhattan federal judge Thursday after launching into a lengthy courtroom speech in which he denied newly filed allegations that he helped torture US citizens.
“I reject this document in its entirety,” said Maduro, 63, who was wearing a tan jail uniform and appeared noticeably thinner than before his arrest in January.
Speaking through a Spanish-language interpreter, the former Venezuelan leader described the indictment as a collection of “false allegations” and said it repeated claims that had already been brought forward.
US District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein – who had instructed Maduro to simply state whether he was pleading guilty or not guilty – cut off the former president as his remarks continued.
“A plea of not guilty will be entered on behalf of Mr Maduro,” Hellerstein said.
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Maduro appeared upbeat as he entered the courtroom through a side entrance Thursday morning, smiling and waving at people seated in the gallery.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, 69, were initially charged with conspiring to commit narcoterrorism after US forces captured the couple during a nighttime raid on their presidential compound in Caracas on Jan. 3.
Manhattan federal prosecutors added charges last week, alleging that the former power couple participated in a plot to torture American citizens detained in Venezuela. Prosecutors said one dissident was subjected to an “electric shock to his testicles.”
Flores also pleaded not guilty Thursday. In response to the expanded indictment, Hellerstein postponed the trial by two weeks, setting the new start date for June 14, 2027.
