Maduro tells court: 'I'm innocent'

OUSTED Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges at a defiant appearance in a New York court this week, two days after being snatched by US forces in a stunning raid on his home in Caracas.

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THIS courtroom sketch shows deposed president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro (L), and his wife, Cilia Flores, attending their arraignment at Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse in New York, with defence lawyers Barry Pollack (not pictured) and Mark Donnelly (C). AFP

(AFP)

Maduro, 63, told a federal judge in Manhattan: "I'm innocent. I'm not guilty."

Smiling as he entered the courtroom and wearing an orange shirt with beige trousers, Maduro spoke softly.

"I'm president of the Republic of Venezuela and I'm here kidnapped since January 3, Saturday," Maduro told the court, speaking in Spanish through an interpreter. "I was captured at my home in Caracas, Venezuela."

Maduro's wife Cilia Flores likewise pleaded not guilty. The judge ordered both to remain behind bars and set a new hearing date of March 17.

The presidential couple were forcibly taken by US commandos in the early hours of Saturday in airstrikes on the Venezuelan capital backed by warplanes and a heavy naval deployment.

Thousands of people marched through Caracas in support of Maduro as his former deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, was sworn in as interim president.