Maduro in court - Venezuela's deposed leader tells judge “I am a prisoner of war” | BBC News

Nicholas Maduro appeared in court in Manhattan with his legs shackled and he was handcuffed. When asked to confirm his name, he defiantly said he was still

was handcuffed. When asked to confirm his name, he defiantly said he was still the president of Venezuela and he'd been kidnapped. It was an astonishing first court appearance for the former leader, the result of an extraordinary turn of

events over the weekend that saw him charged with narco terrorism, cocaine trafficking, and firearms offenses. At pretty much the same time as he pleaded not guilty across town at the United Nations, an Emergency Security Council

meeting debated whether he'd been lawfully deposed, seized, and taken to New York. But tonight, the White House was adamant it will not allow American

New York. But tonight, the White House was adamant it will not allow American security to be threatened by anyone, and its actions in toppling the head of another sovereign state were more than justified. We've got full coverage for

you tonight with our top story from New York. Here's Sarah Smith.

Wearing handcuffs, dressed in prison clothes, and surrounded by heavily armed guards, Nicholas Maduro began the journey from the prison in Brooklyn, where he's being held, to his first US court appearance. TV cameras followed every step of the

elaborate security operation. The images illustrating the deposed president's humiliation.

Maduro, seemingly walking with a limp, and his wife Celia Flores were then put on board a helicopter bound for Manhattan. After arriving at a waterfront helport, they were escorted towards an armored vehicle. Historic scenes the Trump

administration say show a law enforcement action while others see an illegal foreign military operation. Finally, the motorcade arrived at the

courthouse around 7:40 in the morning. US everywhere. >> Outside, some demonstrators celebrated Maduro's capture, others angry about President Trump's claim that he will run

Venezuela and control its oil. Maduro and his wife both pled not guilty to charges of narco terrorism and drug trafficking. Miss Flores had a bandage on her forehead and what looked like bruising on her face. Inside the

courtroom, Nicholas Maduro was asked only to enter a plea, but speaking in Spanish, he insisted that he is still the president of his country, complained that he had been kidnapped by the United States, and described himself as a prisoner of war.

Maduro was returned to prison after his brief court appearance. This is just the start of a legal process that could last for years. Across town at the United Nations, an emergency security council meeting discussed Venezuela. American allies made clear their

reservations that the US has breached international law and may have set a dangerous precedent. Friends of the Maduro regime like Russia and China went

dangerous precedent. Friends of the Maduro regime like Russia and China went even further. We cannot allow the United States to proclaim itself as some kind

even further. We cannot allow the United States to proclaim itself as some kind of a supreme judge which alone bears the right to invade any country, to label culprits, to hand down and to enforce punishments irrespective of notions of international law.

We urge the US to heed the overwhelming voice of the international community, abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN charter, and cease infringing upon the sovereignty and security of other countries.

>> President Trump's envoy to the UN said the US was entirely justified in its actions.

>> There is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country.

This was a law enforcement operation in furtherance of lawful indictments that have existed for decades. So is Nicholas Maduro simply a wanted criminal

who was legally arrested by the United States or an example of the lengths President Trump will go to to assert his will in what he views as America's backyard?

This image posted online by the administration today would seem to answer that question. This is our hemisphere said the accompanying text and President Trump will not allow our security to be threatened.

That picture makes it abundantly clear that the capture of Nicholas Maduro is part of a wider deliberate strategy in which Donald Trump is declaring that he believes he has the right to interfere and control what happens in Central and

South America. And in fact, he published a national security strategy at the end

South America. And in fact, he published a national security strategy at the end of last year which specifically said that America wants to reestablish its preeminence uh in the Western Hemisphere. So, where might he take this

next? I mean, Donald Trump is already seems to have Colombia in its sights

next? I mean, Donald Trump is already seems to have Colombia in its sights from where a lot of cocaine makes its way into the United States. And he has said something needs to be done about the drugs that are pouring through

Mexico and into America. And uh he has again repeated his desire to take over Greenland, which he says is necessary for the United States national security.

So, it's possible that this action in Venezuela may just be the start of a new Trump foreign policy doctrine. >> All right, Sarah. Thank you, Sarah Smith, our North America editor. They're live in New York. Well, Venezuela officially has a new

leader tonight. Nicholas Maduro's deputy, Deli Rodriguez, has been

leader tonight. Nicholas Maduro's deputy, Deli Rodriguez, has been formally sworn in as interim president. Crucially for her, she maintains support among the military and she says she's open to dialogue and cooperation with

Donald Trump. Despite the events of recent days, not much seems to have

Donald Trump. Despite the events of recent days, not much seems to have changed for ordinary Venezuelans with life seemingly returning to normal.

Oligerian has more from Kouta in Colombia on the border with Venezuela.

Deli Rodriguez looking anxious and little wonder as she was sworn in today as Venezuela's interim leader. Her predecessor Nicholas Maduro was in leg irons.

An embrace from his son who said the country is in good hands, dad. His

father's regime was out in force today, but Donald Trump is breathing down her neck.

and he's already shown how far he will go with a strike on Saturday that is still reverberating around the world. Cuba says 32 of its citizens were

killed. They were part of Maduro's security team. Residents in Caracus are still counting

killed. They were part of Maduro's security team. Residents in Caracus are still counting the cost. Whether they backed the president or hated him, this was a blow

the cost. Whether they backed the president or hated him, this was a blow to sovereignty and national pride. >> Wilman Gonzalez claims a US missile hit

this apartment block, killing his aunt. But his anger is directed at the current regime.

This has to change, he says, because we can't take it anymore. The government

can jail me if they want, but I'm talking about the reality in the country. We want a government for all Venezuelans, not just a few.

country. We want a government for all Venezuelans, not just a few.

>> But the authorities are maintaining their grip and the security forces have been ordered to hunt for anyone who helped the US to attack. Maduro loyalists have been out on the

streets in Caracus today demanding his release. But even diehard supporters must know there's no chance of that. And many are sounding defeated.

>> Honestly, I feel completely humiliated. It was so easy for them to take our president. I feel they violated international rights. Just across the border in Colombia,

president. I feel they violated international rights. Just across the border in Colombia, uncertainty here too, the leftist president Gustavo Petro may be in Trump's sights. The

country's military is on alert. So too the whole region.

>> Tonight we are in new terrain here at the border with Venezuela across the region and beyond. What comes next? Many are holding their breath. and what

becomes of the established international order which has endured for decades.

Critics may say that President Donald Trump is now making up the rules as he goes along. But he has been clear about two things. He wants to determine the

goes along. But he has been clear about two things. He wants to determine the future of Venezuela, a sovereign state, and he wants to get his hands on its oil.

>> Ola, thank you for that all the gear in there on the Colombia Venezuelan border.

While shares in US oil companies have gone up on the first day of trading since the US operation in Venezuela, Donald Trump has made it clear he wants America to take control of the country's oil industry with the US long coveting

Venezuela's vast reserves of heavy crude. Simon Jack is here with more on that. Simon,

>> yes, some big moves today, Clive. US company Chevron, which still has operations in Venezuela up 6%. Big winners also the companies that make the equipment and the services to get the stuff out of the ground. Hallebertton up

10%. And little wonder because on the face of it, Venezuela represents a huge untapped oil bonanza. It has 300 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. That's

the most anywhere on Earth. Now, despite these resources, production has actually slumped due to uh lack of investment and sanctions. So today, you can see here,

Venezuela accounts for just 1% of global oil production, tiny compared to the likes of the US and Saudi Arabia. And the cost of extracting those untapped

reserves will be tens, maybe hundreds of billions of dollars. Venezuelan oil is heavy. It's expensive to refine. And US companies have been burned in the past

heavy. It's expensive to refine. And US companies have been burned in the past with assets being confiscated in the past. So there will be no sudden flood of new oil. And you can see that here in the oil price already close to the lows

lowest levels we've seen since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Now more

supply of course could push prices down further and the price since the weekend has in fact barely moved. So this is why many are seeing this move as part potential windfall for the US and its companies but also a move to prevent

other countries like China getting h their hands on these reserves and establishing an economic presence close to the US. Now, wherever oil comes out of the ground, money, politics, often conflict flows. But in the short term at

least, the potential opening up of Venezuela is unlikely to affect the supply or the price of oil and of course eventually petrol. Clive.

>> All right, Simon, thank you. Simon Jack, our business editor there.

>> Well, here the prime minister says it's up to the US to justify its seizure of the Venezuelan president, saying international law matters. In the

Commons, the foreign secretary of Cooper says she discussed the issue with America's top diplomat, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. But some of Seca's own MPs have said he should condemn Donald Trump's decision. Here's Chris Mason.

>> The prime minister in Reading this morning, hoping to talk up what he says the government's doing to bring down the cost of living, but the focus inevitably was on Venezuela. We have long championed a peaceful transition to

democracy because the president was illegitimate. Um is peaceful?

>> Well, we need a peaceful transition to democracy. Do >> you believe that President Trump has acted within within international law? >> Well, we do support um the peaceful transition to democracy. That is a fundamental uh principle.

>> People might reasonably wonder what you actually think about what President Trump has decided to do here. International law matters here and that's why I say the framework must be international law. It is complicated uh and the US will obviously uh have to justify the action it has taken.

>> This evening in the commons that equivocation seized on by many but the conservative leader was broadly supportive. >> We should be cleareyed. The United

States is our closest security partner. We must work with them seriously not snipe from the sidelines. She added she did have concerns about the precedent recent days might set. Listen next to these opposition critiques.

>> We know what happens when an American president launches an illegal war under the pretext of an imminent threat. >> It's why we oppose the Iraq war

>> and why we condemn Trump today. Hard to find an occasion when a British prime minister has looked so irrelevant and spineless on an era defining

international issue as this one does on this occasion. >> And on the Labour backbenches, >> if it were Putin doing this, the prime minister would not be saying, "Oh, it's up to the Russians to decide whether or not this is legal." But this is exactly

what the prime minister has said in relation to Trump's disgusting attack on Venezuela.

>> A number of MPs made the comparison with Russia invading Ukraine, which later the foreign secretary said she had to address. I really would warn members against making equivalents here around what Putin has done in Ukraine where

thousands of children have been kidnapped, where they have uh invaded a country led by a democratically elected President Zalinski. >> Finally, these perspectives from two conservative veterans. >> Isn't the world a better place with him

conservative veterans. >> Isn't the world a better place with him before the courts in New York? And in this case, do not the ends justify the means?

>> Doesn't she agree it really would be stupid to slag off President Trump now when we want to have influence over what he does next? >> And that in essence is the government's strategic position here. Bite your tongue in public to keep that

relationship with the White House going. Interestingly though, a very different position, a much more definitive position from the prime minister on Greenland, that quai autonomous Danish territory that President Trump has

designs on. The prime minister telling me today uh that only Greenland and

designs on. The prime minister telling me today uh that only Greenland and Denmark should decide its future. >> Okay, Chris, thank you. Chris Mason, our political editor at Westminster. We're going to take a step back now and

take stock with Jeremy Bowen, who's with me. Um, what do all the events of the last two or three days, what do they say about President Trump and America's

attitude to how global affairs should be conducted? Well, let's start, shall we, with that very interesting image that was posted by the State Department on

their social media feeds uh about the Western Hemisphere. There you see it.

This is our hemisphere. It says the Western Hemisphere. in this picture of President Trump looking, you know, mean, moody, and magnificent behind his chair there. Uh

the Trump world view is now, I think, clearer than ever. uh after what's been happening in the last few days, it is that big countries can impose their will

as they deem necessary on smaller company countries, seize troublesome leaders, seize natural resources if they need them, like Venezuelan oil perhaps. And so this is

for Trump I think if you like a new imperial era an era of spheres of influence where big countries America has the western hemisphere and now previous periods the early part of the 20th century when there were spheres of

influence that wasn't stable that didn't end well so it's that's why people I think are very worried about these these indications and you know you look at say let's take an example Venezuelan oil by trying to get their hands on it It's not

simply to try to stop China getting its hands on it. It's also because they want to make the whole of the Western Hemisphere a hostile environment. Not

just for the Chinese, but for any potential enemies. Now, if the Chinese, the Russians, India, say for example, except that America has this great big sphere of influence. Does that mean that Donald Trump might give them some

latitude in their spheres to do what they want? He's already shown that he's sympathetic to the idea of the Russians taking over the Dombas in Ukraine. And

what about Taiwan? China would, I think, willingly pull back in Latin America if Trump gave them a free hand there in Taiwan. And of course, there's Greenland. Now, if they do go somehow to a next Greenland, it would be a massive

Greenland. Now, if they do go somehow to a next Greenland, it would be a massive crisis in NATO. It might be the end of NATO. It' be certainly a massive um crisis in the Western Alliance or what's left of it. And uh one last thing uh the

wife of uh the sort of MAGA ideologue, the deputy chief of staff in the White House, Steven Miller, Katy Miller, she also posted something, a map of

Greenland with stars and stripes and just the word soon. >> All right, Jeremy, thank you. You Jeremy

V international editor