NEW YORK: Toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of narco-terrorism after President Donald Trump's stunning capture of him rattled world leaders and left officials in Caracas scrambling to respond. Maduro, 63, pleaded not guilty in New York federal court to four criminal counts that include narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.
Maduro is accused of overseeing a cocaine-trafficking network that partnered with violent groups including Mexico’s Sinaloa and Zetas cartels, Colombian Farc rebels and Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang. Maduro has long denied the allegations, saying they were a mask for imperialist designs on Venezuela's rich oil reserves. While world leaders and US politicians grappled with the extraordinary seizure of a head of state, an emergency order in Venezuela, published in full on Monday, orders police to search and capture anyone who supported Saturday's US attack.
Also on Monday, the UN Security Council debated its legality and implications. Russia, China and leftist allies of Venezuela condemned the raid.
UN Chief Antonio Guterres raised concerns about instability in Venezuela and the legality of Trump's strike, the most dramatic US intervention in Latin America since the 1989 Panama invasion. US Special Forces swooped into Caracas by helicopter on Saturday, shattered his security cordon and dragged him from the threshold of a safe room.
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