The deposed Venezuelan president,Nicolas Maduroand his wifeCilia FloresI’m atManhattan Courthousein front of afederal judgeto answer the charges ofnarcoterrorism, drug trafficking e uso di weapons of war. When the judge asked him to confirm his identity, Maduro responded in Spanish, calling himself “president of the Republic of Venezuela” and adding that he had been “kidnapped.”
“Allow me to interrupt you – the judge told him – there will be a time and place to go into the merits of all this. Your lawyer will be able to present the requests, for now I just want to know one thing: are you Nicolas Maduro Moros?”. “I am Nicolas Maduro Moros,” the defendant responded.
In a blue shirt over a prison jumpsuit, he takes notes
Maduro wears a short-sleeved navy blue shirt over his orange prison jumpsuit and has black headphones, probably for simultaneous translation. His hair is streaked with gray and he is taking notes. Maduro wears black headphones, as does his wife, Cilia Flores, sitting two seats away, in similar attire in the same navy and orange colors.
Maduro in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs on his wrists
In an orange jumpsuit and with handcuffs on his wrists: so thedeposed presidentwas caught on camera leaving theBrooklyn prisonto be transferred to court.
The transfer from Brooklyn prison
L’helicopterwhich he transportedMaduroand his wife, landed on a helipad near thecourthousewhere he will be tried fordrug trafficking. Maduroescorted byagents of the Goddessl’Federal Anti-Drug Agencyhad greatdifficulty a salire sul armored vehiclewho took him to court and even requested assistance from officers.
Maduro will be defended by the same lawyer as Assange
Maduro he instructed the criminal lawyer Barry Pollack, who has long represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, as his lawyer in the Manhattan criminal case in which he is accused of narco-terrorism.
Pollack filed the notice of appointment as Maduro’s attorney in the Southern District of New York drug trafficking case ahead of a hearing scheduled for late this afternoon.
The reactions of the international community
In the meantime, while awaiting judicial developments, the positions taken by the Court are taking center stageinternational community sul military blitz in Venezuela degli United States e sul futuro government di Caracas after theMaduro’s arrest.
The clearest one comes from the president of Colombia Gustavo Petro who says he is ready to “take theweapons contro le threats from the United States”.
The opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado instead thanks Trump “in the name of the people of Venezuela” and then assures that “freedom is near“.
Petro, ready to take up arms
“Even though I wasn’t amilitaryI know theguerra e la clandestinity. I have sworn never to hold a weapon again sincePeace Pact of 1989ma per la PatriaI will take back the weapons I don’t want. They are notillegitimatenor am I adrug trafficker“, wrote Petro onNicolas Maduro.
“The only good I have is…family homewhich I’m still paying with minesalary. I miei bank statementshave been published. No one could say that I spent more than I earned. They are notgreedy“.
“I have a hugetrust in my peopleand for this reason I asked the people todefend the presidentfrom any actviolent and illegitimateagainst him. The way to defend myself is to take thepower in all municipalitiesof the country. The order atpublic forcesis not to shoot at the people and instead to shoot at theinvader.”
“I don’t speak nonsense: I trust inpeople e nella history of Colombiawhich Mr. Rubio has not read. I trust insoldierwho knows he is the son ofBolívarand histricolor flag. So know that you are dealing with acommander of the people. Colombia free forever“, he adds.
Machado, freedom is near
“Il brave people del Venezuelahe took to the streets in30 countries e 130 citiesof the world to celebrate ahuge stepwhich marks theinevitability e l’imminence della transition in Venezuela. I Venezuelansthey thank thePresident Donald Trumpand his administration for thefirmness e la determination nel respect for the law”.He writes it on X laopposition leader, Maria Corina Machado.
“Il Venezuelawill be themain ally degli United States in materia di safety, energy, democracy e human rights. La freedom of Venezuelais near and soon we will celebrate in our land. We will shout, we will pray and we will hug each other as a family, because ourschildren will return home“, he adds.
The EU, it is the people of Venezuela who have to manage the country
“It’s obviously the job of theVenezuelan peoplemanage your ownVillageas it is for every people in the world, in whatever nation they are located”. This was declared by the spokeswomanEuropean CommissionPaula Pinho, in the daily press briefing, answering a question on the hypothesis that they are theUnited Statesto govern the country.
“First of all, it is right to remember thatNicolas Madurolacked thelegitimacyof a democratically elected leader, and therefore the weekend’s events offer an opportunity for ademocratic transition guidata dal Venezuelan people“he explained.
“We also recalled, in this same context, the need to respect theinternational law e la United Nations charteras recalled in the declaration” published yesterday byHigh Representative of the EU for Foreign PolicyKaja Kallas, “and also in the post of president” Ursula von der Leyen, he added.
Switzerland freezes Maduro’s assets
Il Swiss governmenthe decided tofreeze“with immediate effect” allbeni detenuti in Swiss dal deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduroor hiscollaborators.
“Thus, theFederal Council mira a impedire la leakage of goods“, he said in a statement, noting that “should future legal proceedings reveal that ifundshave been acquiredillicitlyla Swisswill work to ensure that they go tobenefit of the Venezuelan people“.
Spain, the US intervention is a dangerous precedent
Il Spanish Foreign Minister, Jose Manuel Albaresdescribed theUS military intervention in Venezuela come un “very dangerous precedentfor the future”.
Speaking on Cadena Ser radio, the head of diplomacy of Madrid underlined that the operation ordered by President Trump is “clearly contrary tointernational law” and that the solution to the problems ofVenezuela“it cannot be imposed from the outside, much less with theforza“.
Albares stated that theSpainis driving theEU positionand attributed the statement released yesterday by 26 of the 27 EU members, all except Hungary, to its efforts with theAlta representative Kaja Kallaswhile acknowledging that he would have preferred a “stronger” statement.
The minister also reported that theSpainasked to speak at Monday’s sessionUnited Nations Security Council sul Venezuelato present his position and stated that theSpanish governmenthe is “the first in the world to speak openly, the one who led theEU position e dell’America Latinaand the one that speaks most clearly” on thiscrisis.
However, he refused to comment on the next stepsVenezuela– in particular, if theopposition leader Edmundo Gonzalezin exile in Spain, should assume power together withNobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado– and asked thedialogue between Venezuelansto reach onepeaceful resolutionof the situation ofVillage.
He recognized that theSpainwill keep thedialogue con la nuova de facto president, Delcy Rodriguezas he did with his predecessor,Nicolas Madurowhile not recognizing his victory at2024 elections.
China, “The US threatens peace in Latin America”
The use of force byUnited States in Venezuela minaccia la pace in America Latina. This was stated by the spokesperson of theChinese Foreign Ministry, Lin Jianwho reiterated thecondemnation of Beijing dell’US attack in Venezuela.
La Chinashe says she is “deeply shocked” by theWashington’s military interventiondefined as a “blatant use of force“, and deplores theforced capture del Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Such actions, Lin underlined, represent athreat to peace in Latin America and the Caribbean oltre a una violation of international law.
Lin also reported thatBeijinghe kept onepositive communication and cooperation con il Venezuelan governmentadding that, regardless of the evolution of the international situation, theChina rimarrà in good relationships con i Latin American countries.
Finally, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs specified that he had not received any reports ofChinese staff coinvolto nell’US attack.