Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s 2nd appearance at New York court

NEW YORK: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro made his second appearance in a New York court after his forcible seizure by US troops in a military raid in Caracas in early January.  During his first arraignment on January 5, Maduro pleaded not guilty to all US charges against him, including drug trafficking, and told the court that he was “kidnapped” from his Caracas residence and he remains president of Venezuela, Xinhua news agency reported. On Thursday, Maduro’s lawyer continued pushing the judge to throw out the charges in court and argued that the United States is violating Maduro’s constitutional rights by blocking Venezuelan government funds from paying for his legal fees. Though doubting Washington’s justification for barring Maduro from using Venezuela’s funds to cover his legal defense, the judge denied the dismissal of the case. On January 3, US military forces launched a large-scale strike against Venezuela and forcibly seized Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, before transporting them to New York. (IANS)

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