Maduro Denies U.S. Drug Charges After Dramatic Capture

The Arrest That Shook Caracas

MIAMI—When Nicolás Maduro stepped off the DEA plane in shackles early Tuesday, the Venezuelan strongman who once taunted Washington as a "paper tiger" looked uncharacteristically small. Inside a packed federal courtroom hours later, the 61-year-old president—ousted last month after a lightning military raid—entered a crisp "not guilty" to charges he ran a "cartel of the suns" that flooded the United States with cocaine.

‘Kidnapped’ Claim

Through an interpreter, Maduro told Judge Kathleen Williams he was "kidnapped by U.S. commandos" in a predawn operation green-lit by former president Donald Trump. Federal prosecutors counter that the arrest was lawful under a 2020 narco-terrorism indictment and that Maduro’s extradition was approved by Venezuela’s interim government. Court papers allege he conspired to ship 250 metric tons of cocaine into the U.S. in exchange for Russian weapons and sanctioned oil swaps.

I never trafficked drugs; I fought them. This is imperial revenge. — Nicolás Maduro

A President Without A Country

Maduro’s plea sets the stage for the first trial of a sitting—or former—foreign head of state on U.S. drug charges since Manuel Noriega three decades ago. The case could drag on for years, but its political aftershocks are immediate. Interim President María Corina Machado hailed the arrest as "justice for millions of Venezuelans," while Caracas saw scattered pro-Maduro protests and swift arrests by the new civilian-led police force.

What Happens Next

• Detention: Maduro was denied bail; prosecutors call him an "extreme flight risk."
• Trial date: Tentatively set for October 2025; jury selection could prove a geopolitical minefield.
• Evidence: Thousands of wiretaps, satellite photos, and testimony from ex-bodyguards turned DEA informants.
• Penalties: If convicted on all counts, Maduro faces life in prison and up to $30 million in asset forfeiture.

Outside the courthouse, Venezuelan expatriates banged pots and pans; inside, the ex-president listened stone-faced as prosecutors read excerpts from encrypted messages they say show him negotiating a 5-percent cut of every cocaine-laden flight departing Maiquetía airport.