NEW YORK: Venezuela’s ousted president Nicolas Maduro appeared before a New York court on Wednesday, his third public hearing since the US military captured him in a stunning night-time raid in January. The former leader, 63, and wife Cilia Flores have been held in a Brooklyn jail since the US military operation, awaiting trial on drug trafficking, firearms and other charges.
In a court filing late on Tuesday, prosecutors and defence lawyers proposed a June 2027 trial date, which Judge Alvin Hellerstein could confirm at the Wednesday hearing focused on procedural matters. The United States in April allowed Venezuela to pay for Maduro’s and Flores’s legal defence, something previously barred by US sanctions.
Maduro has declared himself a “prisoner of war” and pleaded not guilty to the four counts he faces: “narco-terrorism” conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. Venezuela is now led by Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, while the United States effectively controls the country’s oil exports, with proceeds going into special accounts overseen by Washington. — AFP
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