‘Soy inocente’: Maduro defiant in surreal New York courtroom spectacle

At noon on Monday, Nicolás Maduro was escorted into a Manhattan federal courtroom following his capture early on Saturday in Caracas, completing the seized Venezuelan leader’s stunning journey from his capital city to a US courtroom.

It was a surreal display amid the fallout of a brazen US military operation to grab Maduro that has roiled global politics and stunned observers in the US and overseas.

In downtown Manhattan the spectacle played out as Maduro’s larger-than-life persona soon filled Judge Alvin Hellerstein’s courtroom with a mixture of bravado, seriousness, jocularity and defiance.

Maduro, who was not handcuffed but constrained by ankle shackles, looked forward, toward the jury box, as he walked into court. Before sitting down, Maduro told the public gallery “Happy new year!” in English.

His wife, Cilia Flores, followed shortly after, and she had two large Band-Aids on her face; on the temple and forehead. Maduro was dressed in a blue shirt on top of a neon orange shirt, in khaki pants, and Flores’s jailhouse clothing reflected a similar color scheme.

Maduro and Flores were present for their arraignment in a narco-terrorism case brought by Donald Trump’s justice department. They both put on headphones, as they were provided live English-to-Spanish translation of the proceedings. Maduro sometimes glanced down at his indictment and, at various points, scribbled on notebook paper.

Hellerstein made a joke about being short, and how “modern electronic equipment hides the judge”. Proceedings started in earnest with an exchange of greetings that did little to hint at the enormous significance of the events playing out in the room.

“Good morning, Mr Maduro,” Hellerstein said. Maduro gestured in response.

As Hellerstein summed up the charges in this indictment, Maduro could be seen shaking his head slightly, as if in disagreement with the allegations. Hellerstein asked him to confirm his name, as is routine at these proceedings.

Maduro said “I am Nicolás Maduro Moros” and then launched into a diatribe about his political position, insisting that he was president of the constitutional republic of Venezuela. “I am here, kidnapped since 3 January,” he said. “I was captured in my home.”

Hellerstein told Maduro that there would be a time and a place to make these arguments. He asked again: are you Nicolás Maduro Moros?”

“I am Nicolás Maduro Moros,” he said again. Maduro said he had the charging papers in his hand for “the first time” and did not need them read in court, as he wanted to do that on his own.

Maduro’s demeanor while standing could be described as subtly defiant. Sometimes Maduro rested his knuckles on the table. For a few moments, Maduro’s hands were clasped as if in prayer, but with his index fingers pointing forward, in Hellerstein’s direction.

He entered a fulsome not guilty plea shortly thereafter – voicing both a soy inocente and a no soy culpable. After Maduro sat down, the beleaguered leader’s defense attorney made a mouth with his hand and shook his head.

This was an apparent warning from his lawyer. Maduro needed to keep his diatribes to himself.

Then came Flores. She described herself as the first lady of Venezuela.

No culpable, she said, completamente inocente. “Not guilty, completely inocente.”

At one point not long after, Maduro had yet another thing to say in court. “I would like to make a request, your honor,” he said.

Maduro did not want anyone taking his notes away, as he wanted them. “Can I have my notes?” The prosecution said the would work with jail officials to make sure he has his notebooks.

Neither Maduro nor his wife requested bail at this point, but reserved the right to request pre-trial release at a later time. He and his wife’s attorneys did request medical care for them.

Flores’s attorney said that during “her abduction” she suffered “multiple” injuries, including a potential rib fracture.

Hellerstein scheduled a conference in the case for 17 March. When Maduro got up to exit, he tucked a pen into his notepad. A US marshal noticed and took the pen from him.

Someone from the audience shouted out – accusing Maduro of being an illegitimate president. As Maduro stepped through the door into a hallway, he insisted: “I’m a kidnapped president – a prisoner of war!”