Inside Maduro's defiant first courtroom appearance: "I am still president of my country"

CBS News•January 6, 2026•nation

Key Points:

Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were transported under heavy guard from a Brooklyn federal jail to Manhattan for their first U.S. court appearance since their capture over the weekend.
Maduro, shackled and dressed in a prison jumpsuit, pleaded not guilty to charges including narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and weapons offenses, while insisting he is innocent and still the president of Venezuela.
In Caracas, Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, was sworn in as interim president amid Maduro’s detention.
Prosecutors allege Maduro and his family collaborated with violent drug traffickers to distribute large amounts of cocaine to the U.S. over decades; the indictment was originally filed in 2020