Maduro heckled in defiant US court appearance, insists he is still president

Nicolas Maduro walked into a packed New York courtroom Monday with his shoulders back, scanning the public gallery and offering a few Spanish greetings, before declaring: "I am innocent."

The deposed Venezuelan president, wearing a dark shirt over orange prison fatigues, was defiant as he went on to say US forces had kidnapped him and called himself a prisoner of war.

"I'm a decent man. I am still president of my country," Maduro said in the 30-minute hearing in which he pleaded not guilty to drugs and weapons charges.

Lawyers, law enforcement officers and journalists filled the wood-panelled, blue-carpeted room on the top floor of a Manhattan courthouse.

Maduro seemed to understand he had the world's ears and eyes on him as he used the court to condemn the US military raid on him and his wife in Venezuela.

On one occasion, the judge cut him off as Maduro went well beyond a request that he simply confirm his identity for the court.

"I'm here kidnapped since January 3, Saturday. I was captured at my home in Caracas, Venezuela," the 63-year-old said.

"There will be time and place to get into all of this," Judge Alvin Hellerstein replied.

One of the most dramatic moments came at the end of the hearing when Maduro had a heated exchange with a man in the public gallery who shouted that he would pay for his crimes.

"I am a prisoner of war," Maduro responded before being led out of the court.

He spoke only in Spanish and listened to the proceedings translated through headphones. His remarks were relayed to the court through an interpreter.

Using a pen and paper, Maduro took notes throughout and rarely looked up from his desk.

- Heavily-armed police -

His wife Cilia Flores, wearing a similar outfit with tied up blonde hair, sat beside Maduro with one of three lawyers in between them.

Two US marshals stood behind the pair but no weapons were on display in the courtroom.

That was in stark contrast to the dramatic images that showed heavily-armed police escorting them in an armoured vehicle from a Brooklyn jail to court in the morning.

Outside, scores of police officers had been patrolling since early morning and metal barriers served as a perimeter around the building.

Several dozen protesters also gathered to both celebrate and criticise Maduro's arrest, occasionally arguing with each other as they were separated by law enforcement.

One group held Venezuelan flags and signs saying "USA hands off Venezuela" and chanted "Viva viva Maduro."

"We say no to US intervention. It's not in our benefit," said Sydney Loving, 31, who traveled from Minneapolis for the demonstration.

On the other side of a barrier, people were thrilled to see Maduro in US custody.

"Today is my birthday, and this is the best gift I ever received in my whole lifetime," said Angel Montero, 36, a Venezuelan living in the US.

"I am so happy that this is happening today. I'm happy that everybody is here supporting justice."

Venezuelan parliament swears in interim president 

Earlier on Monday, Venezuela's parliament swore in Delcy Rodriguez as interim president.

Rodriguez, who has indicated she will cooperate with Washington, took the oath of office during a ceremony in the National Assembly, telling lawmakers she did so "in the name of all Venezuelans".

She said she was "in pain over the kidnapping of our heroes, the hostages in the United States," referring to Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

The parliament denounced the capture of leftist leader Maduro while vowing support for his stand-in Rodriguez after the US military attack that shocked Caracas and the world.

Members of the National Assembly offered their full backing to Rodriguez -- who had been Maduro's vice president -- and re-elected her brother Jorge Rodriguez as parliament speaker.

As Monday's session opened, lawmakers chanted: "Let's go Nico!" -- a slogan of Maduro's presidential campaign ahead of 2024 elections that were widely denounced by the opposition and dozens of global capitals, including Washington, as fraudulent.

On President Donald Trump's orders, US military forces early Saturday launched strikes on the Venezuelan capital and seized Maduro and his wife, flying them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

"The president of the United States, Mr Trump, claims to be the prosecutor, the judge, and the policeman of the world," senior lawmaker Fernando Soto Rojas said in an address to colleagues.

"We say: you will not succeed. And we will ultimately deploy all our solidarity so that our legitimate president, Nicolas Maduro, returns victorious to Miraflores," the presidential palace, he added.

- 'In good hands' -

Venezuela's Supreme Court on Saturday ordered Delcy Rodriguez to assume the presidency "in an acting capacity," and on Sunday the military also threw its support behind her.

With Jorge Rodriguez's reelection, the influential siblings are in control of Venezuela's executive and legislative branches.

Jorge Rodriguez vowed in front of his lawmaker colleagues Monday to pursue "all procedures, all platforms, and all avenues to bring back Nicolas Maduro Moros, my brother, my president."

Maduro's lawmaker son Nicolas Maduro Guerra also offered his support for the acting president.

"Count on me, count on my family," Maduro Guerra, known as "Nicolasito," told Rodriguez during an address to parliament, adding the country was "in good hands" until his parents' "return."

New members of Venezuela's single-chamber parliament were chosen last May in elections boycotted by much of the opposition, leaving 256 of the 286 seats in the hands of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and its allies.

Maduro Guerra said Monday Venezuela "asks for neither privileges nor concessions; it demands respect... We want international relations with everyone, based on equality, mutual respect, and cooperation, without threats and without interference."

Delcy Rodriguez, who on Saturday insisted Maduro remains the country's "only" president, later extended an offer of cooperation to Washington, who has said it would work with Venezuela's leaders if they do what it wants.

Trump meanwhile warned Rodriguez could face a fate worse than Maduro if she failed to heed US demands on policy reforms and oil access. 

'Need access to oil'

When asked what he needs from interim leader Rodriguez, Trump said: "We need total access. We need access to the oil and other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country."

Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves, and more Venezuelan crude in the market could exacerbate oversupply concerns and add to recent pressure on prices.

But analysts say that alongside other major questions about the South American country's future, substantially lifting its oil production will not be easy, quick or cheap.

Oil dipped as investors weighed the impact.

The Trump administration says it retains economic leverage by blockading oil tankers from Venezuela. Trump has also threatened additional military attacks.

While there are no known US forces left inside Venezuela, a huge naval presence, including an aircraft carrier, remains off the coast.

Leading opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia said that while the US intervention was "important," without the release of political prisoners and acknowledgement that he won the 2024 election, it was simply "not enough."

Details of the US operation were still emerging Monday, with Havana saying 32 Cubans were killed in the attack and Trump adding that Cuba itself was ready to fall after Maduro's capture.

"I don't think we need any action. It looks like it's going down," Trump said.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency session on Monday at Venezuela's request.

Maduro allies remain

The White House indicated Sunday that it does not want regime change, only Maduro's removal and a pliant new government -- even if it is filled with his former associates.

Anointed by his mentor Hugo Chavez before the latter's 2013 death, Maduro kept a tight grip on power until his capture by US forces on Saturday.

He ruled alongside Flores and three other powerful figures: Rodriguez, now Venezuela's interim leader, her brother Jorge, and their rival, hardline Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.

"It's like a club of five," a diplomatic source in Caracas told AFP under the condition of anonymity.

The US position leaves the Venezuelan opposition, which the Trump administration says was robbed of victory by Maduro, out in the cold.

China, Russia and Iran, which have longstanding ties with Maduro's government, were quick to condemn the operation. Some US allies, including the EU, expressed alarm.

China called for Maduro to be "immediately released" in a condemnation of the US operation, which its foreign ministry said was a "clear violation of international law."

Iran said on Monday that its relations with close ally Venezuela remained unchanged and called for Maduro's release.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whose country neighbors Venezuela, called the US action an "assault on the sovereignty" of Latin America, which would lead to a humanitarian crisis.

Petro rejected threats on Sunday of military action in Colombia made by Trump, who also accused the South American leader of drug trafficking.