Barely 48 hours after US forces took Nicolás Maduro and his wife from a compound in Caracas, the Venezuelan leader stood in a New York court and pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges brought by the US government.
As the world grapples with the highly unusual military seizure by the US of another world leader, the criminal case against Maduro will work through the justice system much like any other filed in New York, based upon the evidence and US law.
Prosecutors in their charging document alleged Maduro, his wife and son and their accomplices engaged in a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy and partnered with cartels designated as terrorist groups.
They said the accused "abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States".
Maduro has previously called such charges a tool to further "imperial" plans for getting access to Venezuela's rich oil reserves.
