Maduro couple forcibly transferred from detention center to court [Yonhap News]

Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, arrested and extradited by the US military and appearing in a US court for the first time, has pleaded not guilty. 

In his first appearance in a New York court on the 5th (local time), Maduro stated, "I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country," denying all charges. 

According to the conservative US media outlet Newsmax, Maduro, along with his wife, was transferred from the temporary detention facility in Brooklyn, New York, to the U.S. Southern District Court in Manhattan, where he appealed his innocence regarding the drug trafficking charges against him. 

Maduro [Newsmax Online] / Photography is restricted in federal court. Wearing a blue prison uniform, Maduro, along with his co-defendant wife, participated in the arraignment proceedings for about 20 minutes while wearing an interpreter headset. 

Maduro was indicted by US judicial authorities in 2020, during the first Trump administration, on charges of involvement in drug trafficking. According to the indictment, the Maduros are also accused of ordering the kidnapping, assault, and murder of individuals who interfered with their drug trafficking operations. 

Maduro's legal team has reportedly argued the illegality of his arrest, asserting his immunity from prosecution as the head of a sovereign state. The defense team is said to include a lawyer who represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. 

It is reported that no plea was entered on the charges of involvement in global election fraud through "Smartmatic" on this day. 

In relation to this, Emerald Robinson, an independent journalist in the United States who has been closely tracking issues of "election fraud," emphasized the background hidden behind this operation on her social media (SNS) account on the 4th, stating, "The Trump administration allowed Congress to view the Venezuela issue as a 'drug' matter to avoid the congressional process for approving war." 

He added, "President Trump said that Congress tends to have leaks of secrets," and noted, "It should be remembered that most members of Congress were elected by rigged voting systems over the last 20 years (Most of Congress was installed by voting systems rigged for the last 20 years)." 

In response to some claims that the operation should have been reported to Congress in advance, Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Republican, Iowa) dismissed them, stating, "The success of the operation depends on secrecy and swift execution."