Venezuela’s Maduro back in court after shock capture by US forces

Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with his wife, Cilia Flores, Flores’ lawyer, Mark Donnelly, and Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, attend a hearing in New York on Thursday.

Courtroom sketch: Jane Rosenberg via Reuters Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro cut a relaxed figure Thursday as he returned to a federal court in New York for his second appearance since his capture by US forces in an extraordinary nighttime raid.

During the one-hour hearing, the judge indicated he would not dismiss the case over Maduro and his wife’s apparent inability to afford their legal bill without aid from the Venezuelan government.

The former leader, 63, and wife Cilia Flores have been held in a Brooklyn jail for almost three months since American commandos snatched the pair from their compound in Caracas in early January.

The stunning operation deposed the strongman who had led Venezuela since 2013 and has since forced the oil-rich country to largely bend to the will of US President Donald Trump.

Maduro has declared himself a “prisoner of war” and pleaded not guilty to the four counts he faces: “narcoterrorism” conspiracy; cocaine importation conspiracy; possession of machine guns and destructive devices; and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

Demonstrators show their support for the arrest of Nicolas Maduro outside a federal courthouse in New York on Thursday.

Photo: AFP Wearing a grey prison uniform, glasses and a headset for translation, he jotted down notes throughout the hearing and occasionally spoke to his lawyer through an interpreter.

Maduro, who smiled as he entered the room, did not address the court during the proceedings, which focused on arguments over who will pay his and Flores’s legal fees.

US sanctions prevent the Venezuelan government from footing the bill, and Maduro and Flores say they do not have sufficient personal funds to cover it themselves. “I’m not going to dismiss the case,” said Judge Alvin Hellerstein, seemingly rebuffing a request by Maduro’s lawyer, though he did not issue a formal decision.

Hellerstein also did not immediately set the next court date.

Before the hearing, Trump said that “other cases are going to be brought” against Maduro, without giving more details.

Several backers and opponents of Maduro gathered outside the Manhattan courthouse, including some with a large inflatable doll depicting him in an orange prison jumpsuit with handcuffs.

At one point, a scuffle broke out betwee

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