Someone from the audience in the New York court room shouted out – accusing Nicolus Maduro of being an illegitimate president.
As Maduro stepped through the door into a hallway, he insisted: “I’m a kidnapped president – a prisoner of war!”
Venezuela's ousted President Nicolas Maduro has/had Spiritual link to Sathya Sai Baba
Raised Catholic, Maduro was introduced to Sathya Sai Baba through his future wife, Cilia Flores, who accompanied him in cultivating a spiritual practice alongside his political ambitions. The couple visited the Prasanthi Nilayam ashram in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, in 2005 for a private meeting with the godman.
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In downtown Manhattan the spectacle played out as Maduro’s larger-than-life persona soon filled Judge Alvin Hellerstein’s courtroom with a mixture of bravado, seriousness, jocularity and defiance.
Maduro, who was not handcuffed but constrained by ankle shackles, looked forward, toward the jury box, as he walked into court. Before sitting down, Maduro told the public gallery “Happy new year!” in English, reports 'The Guardian'. London.
His wife, Cilia Flores, followed shortly after, and she had two large Band-Aids on her face; on the temple and forehead. Maduro was dressed in a blue shirt on top of a neon orange shirt, in khaki pants, and Flores’s jailhouse clothing reflected a similar color scheme.
Maduro and Flores were present for their arraignment in a narco-terrorism case brought by Donald Trump’s justice department.
They both put on headphones, as they were provided live English-to-Spanish translation of the proceedings. Maduro sometimes glanced down at his indictment and, at various points, scribbled on notebook paper.
Hellerstein made a joke about being short, and how “modern electronic equipment hides the judge”.
“Good morning, Mr Maduro,” Hellerstein said. Maduro gestured in response.
Maduro said “I am Nicolás Maduro Moros” and then launched into a diatribe about his political position, insisting that he was president of the constitutional republic of Venezuela. “I am here, kidnapped since 3 January,” he said. “I was captured in my home.”
Hellerstein told Maduro that there would be a time and a place to make these arguments. He asked again: are you Nicolás Maduro Moros?”
“I am Nicolás Maduro Moros,” he said again.
He entered a fulsome not guilty plea shortly thereafter – voicing both a soy inocente and a no soy culpable.
After Maduro sat down, the beleaguered leader’s defense attorney made a mouth with his hand and shook his head.
This was an apparent warning from his lawyer. Maduro needed to keep his diatribes to himself.
Then came Flores. She described herself as the first lady of Venezuela.
No culpable, she said, completamente inocente. “Not guilty, completely inocente.”
At one point not long after, Maduro had yet another thing to say in court. “I would like to make a request, your honor,” he said.
Maduro did not want anyone taking his notes away, as he wanted them. “Can I have my notes?” The prosecution said they would work with jail officials to make sure he has his notebooks.
Neither Maduro nor his wife requested bail at this point, but reserved the right to request pre-trial release at a later time. He and his wife’s attorneys did request medical care for them.
Flores’s attorney said that during “her abduction” she suffered “multiple” injuries, including a potential rib fracture.
Hellerstein scheduled a conference in the case for 17 March.
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