Nicolás Maduro Pleads Not Guilty and Rages He Was 'Kidnapped' During First Court Appearance — After Trump's 'Secret' Mission to Capture Venezuelan Dictator
Nicolás Maduro made his first court appearance since his capture.
Jan. 5 2026, Published 12:20 p.m. ET
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance on Monday, January 5, RadarOnline.com can report.
The controversial leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured during a nighttime U.S. military operation in the oil-rich nation.
Maduro's Day in Court
Donald Trump recently shared a photo of Maduro captured.
Just a few minutes after noon Eastern time, Maduro was led into the federal courtroom in New York. He was dressed in an orange shirt with a blue shirt over it, beige pants, and orange slippers, and shook hands with his lawyer before taking a seat.
Maduro’s wife was led to her seat immediately afterward. Both put on headsets to hear the proceedings as they are translated.
Appearing before Judge Alvin Hellerstein, Maduro said in Spanish: "I am not guilty, I am a decent man. I am still the president of my country."
According to court reporters, Maduro went on to claim he was "kidnapped" from his home.
On Saturday, President Trump ordered what he described as a "large-scale air strike" on Caracas, Venezuela, in the early hours of the morning, with at least seven explosions reported around 2 a.m. ET. Roughly two hours later, Trump announced on Truth Social that Maduro and Flores had been captured.
"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country," Trump wrote.
The Capture
Maduro landed in New York Sunday, January 4.
According to Trump, Maduro was inside a heavily fortified compound at the time of his capture and claimed U.S. forces carried out an elaborate deception to gain access.
"They actually built a house which was identical to the one they went into with all the safes, all the steel all over the place," he said.
The president added that Maduro was attempting to reach a secure area when U.S. forces intervened.
Reports indicated that the U.S. elite special mission unit Delta Force carried out the operation, though Trump declined to confirm those details publicly.
Debate Over the Operation
He was surrounded by a large police presence.
Trump later shared a photo of a captured Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima. The image, shared on Trump's Truth Social account, showed Maduro wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants, with what appeared to be headphones and dark glasses placed over his eyes. He was holding a water bottle and looked to be handcuffed.
The photo release came hours after Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez demanded proof that Maduro and Flores were still alive, accusing the Trump administration of triggering a national emergency and provoking unrest across the country.
Rodríguez alleged that both civilians and military personnel were killed during the U.S. operation and condemned the attack as unlawful.
The move has also drawn fierce backlash from Democrats. Former Congressman Justin Amash called Trump's actions "unconstitutional and impeachable," while New Mexico Rep. Melanie Stansbury demanded that Congress "rein him in immediately."
Trump Takes Victory Lap
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Trump has taken credit for the operation.
Trump later described the operation in a phone interview with Fox News, saying he watched the capture unfold live from Mar-a-Lago alongside military leadership.
"I was told by real military people that there's no other country on Earth that can do such a maneuver," Trump said. "If you would have seen what happened, I mean, I watched it literally, like I was watching a television show."
He told the outlet: "If you would have seen the, the speed, the violence, you know, they say that the speed, the violence, they use that term. It's just, it was an amazing thing, amazing job that these people did. There's nobody else could have done anything like it.
"Well, we watched it from a room. We had a room, and we watched it, and we watched every aspect of it. We were surrounded by lots of people, including generals, and they knew everything that was happening. And it was very complex, extremely complex."
Trump added: "Really, they just broke in, and they broke into places that were not really able to be, broke into steel doors that was were put there for just this reason, and they got taken out in a matter of seconds. I've never seen anything like it," Trump added.
He also said the United States had a "massive number" of aircraft available for the operation, including helicopters and fighter jets.
