Venezuela updates: Maduro pleads not guilty at NYC court

We've now moved to a new blog, covering the latest as questions mount over next steps in Venezuela. 

Oil prices have finished higher on a strong day for global equities after the US capture of Venezuela's president fueled speculation about future crude supplies.

The upheaval in Venezuela also sparked a rally in energy stocks, helping lift US markets after London's FTSE 100 earlier closed at a record high.

Energy multinational Chevron surged more than 5%, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.2% to a fresh all-time high of 48,977.8. The broader S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also ended the session solidly higher.

Oil services group Halliburton jumped 7.8%, while producers ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil also advanced.

Defense stocks gained ground as well, alongside several major technology companies in focus at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Oil prices have swung sharply as markets digested the weekend's dramatic events.
Prices initially jumped after the military operation to seize Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, then fell on speculation Venezuela could quickly boost output.

Venezuela holds about a fifth of the world’s oil reserves, raising talk it could add supply to an already glutted market.

Prices later recovered as investors concluded the country is not in a position to materially increase oil production in the short term.

The son of Nicolas Maduro has warned that his father's capture by the United States risks setting a dangerous international precedent.

Speaking before Venezuela's parliament on Monday, lawmaker Nicolas Maduro Guerra accused the Trump administration of undermining global stability and demanded that his parents be returned by US authorities.

The speech marked his first public appearance since Saturday's escalation and came as Washington has stepped up pressure on Venezuela’s leadership to align with its plans for the oil-rich country.

Maduro Guerra, known as "Nicolasito," also called for international backing and condemned his inclusion as a co-conspirator in the New York indictment of his parents.

"If we normalize the kidnapping of a head of state, no country is safe. Today it's Venezuela. Tomorrow it could be any nation that refuses to submit. This is not a regional problem. It is a direct threat to global political stability," he said.

Delcy Rodriguez has been sworn in as Venezuela's acting president following the capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife by the United States in a military operation.

Speaking during her oath on Monday, Rodriguez said, "I come with pain over the kidnapping of two heroes who are being held hostage in the United States. I also come with honor to swear in on behalf of all Venezuelans."

Rodriguez had served as Maduro's vice president and was next in the line of succession. Venezuela's supreme court ordered her to assume the role for 90 days, with the mandate subject to extension.

The head of Venezuela's National Assembly has vowed to use all available means to secure the return of toppled President Nicolas Maduro after his capture by the United States.

The parliament's President Jorge Rodriguez, who was re-elected on Monday, said his priority would be to pursue every possible procedure and forum to bring Maduro back to Venezuela.

"My main task in the coming days, as president of this National Assembly, will be to use all procedures, all platforms and all spaces to succeed in bringing back Nicolas Maduro Moros, my brother, my president," Rodriguez said during his address opening the first session of the new assembly.

The legislature was elected in May 2025 in polls that were boycotted by a large part of the opposition.

Denmark has expressed deep concern over what it called a drastic escalation in Venezuela following a major military operation earlier this month.

Speaking at the UN Security Council, Denmark's ambassador Christina Markus Lassen urged all parties to adhere strictly to international law, de-escalate tensions, and exercise restraint.

Lassen said the military action risked undermining the foundations of international law. She spoke after US President Donald Trump repeated a threat to annex Greenland, an autonomous and mineral rich part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

"Independent of the situation in Venezuela, these developments constitute a dangerous precedent," she said.

She recalled the core principle prohibiting the threat or use of force against another state's territorial integrity or political independence.

This imperative is enshrined in Article 2, paragraph 4 of the UN Charter," Lassen said, stressing that Security Council members such as the US carry a special responsibility to uphold those principles.

"The principles of sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity must be respected," she said.
"The inviolability of borders is not open to negotiation. These are universal, sacrosanct principles enshrined in international law. They apply everywhere."

The Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, denounced a "flagrant violation" of the UN Charter and international law by the United States.

He also called for respect for immunity, as well as the release and return to Venezuela of deposed president Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

"We first request that the Government of the United States of America be required to fully respect the immunities of President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, as well as their immediate release and safe return to Venezuela," Moncada said during an emergency session of the UN's highest body.

He also demanded that member states issue an "unequivocal" condemnation of the use of force against Venezuela, reaffirm the principle of non-acquisition of territory or resources through force, and adopt measures for de-escalation, protection of the civilian population, and the restoration of international law.

The diplomat accused the Washington of an "illegitimate armed attack devoid of any legal justification," which involved "bombardments of its territory, the loss of civilian and military lives, the destruction of essential infrastructure, and the kidnapping" of Maduro on January 3, a date he described as being "of profound historical gravity" for the world.

"Allowing such acts to go unanswered effectively amounts to normalizing the replacement of law by force and eroding the very foundations of the collective security system," the ambassador added.

Moncada described Venezuela’s "natural wealth, oil, energy, strategic resources, and geopolitical position" as a "central element of the aggression," and likened the action to "the worst practices of colonialism and neocolonialism."

It has emerged that deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro exchanged sharp words with a protester as he left the New York courtroom.

As federal officers prepared to escort him out, a man in the audience stood and addressed Maduro in Spanish, calling him an "illegitimate" president.

The man was identified as 33-year-old Pedro Rojas, who later said he had been imprisoned by the Venezuelan regime.

As deputy US marshals led Maduro away, he looked directly at Rojas and responded in Spanish: "I am a kidnapped president. I am a prisoner of war."

The United States has defended the capture of Venezuela's leader as a targeted law enforcement operation, not an act of war.

Speaking at the UN Security Council, US Ambassador Mike Waltz said Washington carried out a "surgical law enforcement operation" against what he called "two indicted fugitives of American justice."

He said the United States acted against Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores.

"This past weekend, colleagues, the United States successfully carried out a surgical law enforcement operation facilitated by the US military against two indicted fugitives of American justice, narco terrorist Nicolas Maduro and Celia Flores," he said.

Waltz accused Maduro of targeting the United States and destabilizing the region.
"Colleagues, Nicolas Maduro is responsible for attacks on the people of the United States, for destabilizing the Western Hemisphere and illegitimately repressing the people of Venezuela," he said.

"There is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country. This was a law enforcement operation in furtherance of lawful indictments that have existed for decades," Waltz said.

Waltz referred to Maduro as an "illegitimate narco-terrorist" and said that he therefore did not warrant the same treatment as a "democratically elected president or head of state." 

China has sharply condemned the United States over the seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro during a UN Security Council meeting.

China's deputy UN ambassador Sun Lei said Beijing was "deeply shocked" and "strongly condemns the unilateral, illegal and bullying acts of the US."

Speaking in Mandarin, Sun called on Washington to free Maduro and his wife immediately.

"We call on the US to ensure of the personal safety of President Maduro and his wife and to release them at once," he said, adding that China supported the Security Council's role in maintaining international peace and backed UN and regional efforts to promote dialogue and de-escalate the situation.

Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has pleaded not guilty to US federal drug trafficking charges during his first appearance in a US courtroom.

"I'm innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country," Maduro told the judge.

The court read out a summary of the charges, including allegations of a "narco-terrorism conspiracy." The case stems from charges the Trump administration cited to justify capturing Maduro and bringing him to New York.

Maduro said he had not read the indictment and had not been informed of his rights. "I did not know of these rights," he said through an interpreter. "Your honor is informing me of them now."

The judge said a not guilty plea would be entered on Maduro's behalf. Asked again for his plea, Maduro said, "I am innocent. I am not guilty of anything that is mentioned here."

After Maduro's plea, the judge turned to his wife, Cilia Flores, and asked her to confirm her identity. "I am first lady of the Republic of Venezuela," Flores said through an interpreter before entering her plea.

"Not guilty. Completely innocent," Flores told the court.

The next court date for both was set for ⁠March 17.

Toppled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has made his first appearance in a US courtroom on narco-terrorism charges that the Trump administration cited to justify his capture and transfer to New York.

Maduro and his wife appeared in a brief procedural hearing that is expected to open a prolonged legal battle over whether he can be tried in the United States.

His lawyers are expected to challenge the legality of his arrest, arguing he is immune from prosecution as a sovereign head of state. The US does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate leader.

Prosecutors accuse Maduro, along with his wife, son, and three others, of working with drug cartels to move thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States. If convicted, they could face life in prison.

Maduro was led into the courtroom at 12:01 pm wearing a blue prison uniform, shook hands with his lawyer, and took his seat. His wife was brought in moments later, and both donned headsets to follow the proceedings through translation.

Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein took the bench at 12:03 p.m.

Russia has sharply condemned the US military operation in Venezuela, calling it a return to global lawlessness and a breach of international law.

Speaking at an emergency UN Security Council meeting, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said Washington's capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro marked "a turn back to the era of lawlessness" by the United States.

Nebenzya urged the 15-member council to reject what he called US methods of military foreign policy.

"We cannot allow the United States to proclaim itself as some kind of a supreme judge, which alone bears the right to invade any country, to label culprits, to hand down and to enforce punishments irrespective of notions of international law, sovereignty and nonintervention," he said.

Colombia  has condemned the US operation in Venezuela as a clear breach of international law during a UN Security Council meeting requested by Bogota.

Colombian UN Ambassador Leonor Zalabata Torres said there was no justification for the unilateral use of force and warned it violated Venezuela’s sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity.

"There is no justification whatsoever, under any circumstances, for the unilateral use of force to commit an act of aggression," Zalabata Torres told the council. "Such actions constitute a serious violation of international law and the United Nations Charter."

She said Colombia was categorically condemning the US military action.

"Colombia condemns categorically the events that occurred in the early morning of the 3rd of January in Venezuela where we saw multiple explosions and air activity over Caracas and other areas of the country as part of a military attack carried out by the United States which included bombing of civilian and military infrastructure creating panic amongst the population," she said, adding that the events represented "clear violations of the sovereignty, political independence and the territorial integrity of Venezuela."

The United Nations has called for respect for state sovereignty after the United States seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and said it was in charge of the country.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged "respect for the principles of sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of states," according to remarks read on his behalf by Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo at a UN Security Council meeting on Venezuela.

"I am deeply concerned about the possible intensification of instability in the country, the potential impact on the region, and the precedent it may set for how relations between and among states are conducted," the remarks said.

Venezuela requested the Security Council meeting, with Colombia relaying the request. Colombia has been a council member since January 1.