Russia denounces ‘lawless’ US abduction of Maduro at UN Security Council: As it happened
Kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have pleaded not guilty to all charges in a New York court on Monday.
The pair were delivered to the federal courthouse in Manhattan for arraignment following their abduction from Caracas by US special forces just days before.
Maduro is facing charges on four counts, including “narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States.”
When asked by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to introduce himself, Maduro reportedly said that he is the “president of Venezuela,” and that he considers himself “a prisoner of war.”
The Venezuelan leader is reportedly being represented by Barry Pollack, a veteran criminal defense lawyer known for defending Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange in the case that saw him freed.
In closing the proceedings, Judge Hellerstein reportedly announced that the next hearing will take place on March 17.
Meanwhile, after carrying out a regime-change operation in the oil-rich South American country, US President Donald Trump has threatened Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, with a “bigger price” than the one paid by Maduro.
He added that the US needs “total access… to the oil and to other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country.” Trump also said that Washington will “run” Venezuela “until such time as a proper transition can take place.”
“We’re in charge,” Trump reiterated on Sunday, noting that Rodriguez was “cooperating” with the US.
Moscow has condemned the US “aggression,” and lamented that “ideological hostility has triumphed over business-like pragmatism.”
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06 January 2026
05:52 GMTBeijing has asserted that Washington’s attack on Caracas flouts international law and the UN Charter.
Speaking at the UN Security Council, China’s Deputy Ambassador Sun Lei said that, as a permanent Council member, the US had violated the principles of sovereign equality, non-interference, peaceful dispute settlement, and prohibition of the use of force.
“These principles are the foundation of the UN Charter and international peace,” Sun said, accusing Washington of “placing power above multilateralism and military action above diplomacy,” while warning that the attack poses a serious threat to peace in Latin America, the Caribbean, and beyond. China “firmly opposes this,” he stressed.
- 03:34 GMT
A courtroom sketch has been released showing Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appearing before a judge in New York on Monday.
Both pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges. Maduro said he remains the legitimate president of Venezuela and described himself as “a prisoner of war.”
- 02:01 GMT
Anti-aircraft weapons were reportedly fired in downtown Caracas on Monday evening, as residents reported hearing heavy gunfire and explosions.
Citing Venezuelan sources, AFP said that security forces had opened fire in response to unidentified drones flying over the Miraflores presidential palace.
BREAKING: Video shows gunfire and anti-aircraft fire lighting up the skies over Caracas, Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/qWOOM6l3jH
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 6, 2026 05 January 2026
23:51 GMTFrench government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said President Emmanuel Macron does not approve of the method used to capture Nicolas Maduro.
“We defend international law and the freedom of peoples. The method employed is neither supported nor approved,” she said on Monday.
Macron had said earlier that the Venezuelan people “can only rejoice” that Maduro had been abducted during a US raid.
Rallies in support of Maduro were held in Caracas and other Venezuelan cities, while members of the Venezuelan diaspora abroad staged demonstrations celebrating the raid.
- 23:13 GMT
At the UN Security Council, Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia condemned the abduction of Nicolas Maduro as “international banditry,” warning that it was pushing the world toward “an epoch of lawlessness.” He accused the US of pursuing “hegemonic ambitions” and seeking to pillage Venezuela’s natural resources.
US envoy Mike Waltz defended the raid as “a law enforcement operation” and labeled Maduro “a narcotrafficker.” He said Maduro’s rule was illegitimate, citing allegations of vote rigging. “He was not a head of state,” Waltz said.
- 20:35 GMT
Maduro’s wife Cilia Flores is in “good spirits” but “aware that there is a long road ahead and is prepared,” CBS cited her lawyer Mark Donnelly as saying.
“We look forward to reviewing and challenging the evidence the government has.”
- 20:30 GMT
Thank you for staying with the RT live updates regarding the US abduction of the Venezuelan president.
Here is a short recap of the pretrial proceedings:
Nicolas Maduro and his first lady Cilia Flores were brought to a lower Manhattan courthouse shortly before noon EST on Monday afternoon. Both wore prison garb.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein presided over the hearing.
Maduro was represented by legal heavyweight Barry Pollack, and his wife by state-appointed attorney Mark Donnelly.
Maduro said that he is the Venezuelan president and considers himself a prisoner of war, when asked to confirm his identity to the court.
His wife identified herself as the “first lady of the Republic of Venezuela.”
When asked to enter their pleas, Maduro reportedly declared: “I am innocent, I am not guilty… I am a decent man.”
His wife pled: “Not guilty, completely innocent.”
When informed that they have a right to a consular visit, both asked to exercise the right.
“Mr. Maduro is not seeking release at this time,” Pollack told the judge when asked about bail. The Venezuelan first lady will also not seek bail at this time, her lawyer said.
Pollack stressed that Maduro is entitled to the immunity afforded by his presidential office, and that his military abduction raised legal issues.
Mrs. Flores reportedly showed bruising and bandages on her face and wrists, and her lawyer stressed that she sustained “significant injuries in her abduction,” suggesting she may have suffered a fracture of the ribs, and asked for a physical evaluation.
Hellerstein closed the hearing and set the next one for March 17, at 11am EST.
- 19:45 GMT
Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez has been formally sworn in.
“I come with pain for the suffering that has been caused to the Venezuelan people following a military and illegitimate aggression against our homeland,” she said in her oath.
“I come with sorrow for the kidnapping of two heroes we hold hostage in the United States of America: President Nicolas Maduro and the First Lady of this country, Cilia Flores.”
She swore to guarantee the future of Venezuelan children, to guarantee the peace of the republic, and to lead a government that brings political stability to its people.
“From all political sectors of Venezuela, from all social and economic sectors, let us swear as one country, to move Venezuela forward in these terrible hours of threat against the stability and peace of the nation. I swear.”
- 19:27 GMT
The US airstrikes on Venezuela hit its civilian population, and thus violated the Geneva Convention, Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN Samuel Reinaldo Moncada Acosta has said.
“Indiscriminate attacks were carried out against the civilian population,” he said during a UN Security Council session.
Moncada also argued that the US “kidnapping of the constitutional president of the Republic” in violation of his presidential immunity set an “extremely dangerous precedent.”
“Its disregard not only affects Venezuela, but also sets an extremely dangerous precedent for all states represented in this chamber, regardless of their size, power or alliances.”
- 19:02 GMT
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz has argued that Washington is not engaging in war against Venezuela, and is instead carrying out a “law enforcement operation.”
“There is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country,” he told the UN Security Council.
“This was a law enforcement operation in furtherance of lawful indictments that have existed for decades,” he said, citing the capture of Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega as precedent.
The US invaded Panama and captured the de facto ruler of the Central American nation in 1989. He was brought back to the US, tried and convicted on drugs smuggling and money laundering charges.
