Ousted Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, is set to appear Thursday in a New York court for the second time since his capture by US forces during a dramatic overnight raid in Caracas.
Maduro, 63, and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been held for nearly three months in a Brooklyn federal detention facility after being seized in early January in a US military operation that removed him from power.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation, and weapons-related offences, while declaring himself a “prisoner of war.”
At Thursday’s hearing, scheduled for 11:00 am (1500 GMT), his legal team is expected to seek dismissal of the case, arguing that restrictions linked to US sanctions have prevented proper funding of his defence.
Maduro is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he is reportedly held in isolation with limited communication.
A source said he spends time reading the Bible, while his son quoted him as saying: “We are fine, we are fighters.”
The January raid that led to his arrest involved airstrikes and a swift ground assault on Caracas, leaving dozens dead and marking a major escalation by the United States.
Following his removal, Delcy Rodríguez assumed leadership and has since introduced reforms and an amnesty for political prisoners amid growing US influence over the oil-rich nation.
