“I am a prisoner of war”

The sound of chains clicking legs could be heard moments before Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro walked through the door of a New York City courthouse for the first time.

He then told packed rows of reporters and the public that he had just been “kidnapped.”

Minutes after entering, Judge Alvin Hellerstein asked Maduro to confirm his identity so the proceedings could begin.

“My name is Nicolas Maduro. I am president of the Republic of Venezuela and I have been here kidnapped since January 3,” he told the court in calm Spanish before an interpreter who was translating for the court. “I was captured in my home in Caracas, Venezuela.”

The 92-year-old judge quickly intervened to tell Maduro there would be “a time and a place to address all of this.”

During the dramatic 40-minute arraignment Monday afternoon, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges.

“I’m innocent. I’m an honest man,” Maduro said, with Flores adding that she was “completely innocent.”

The 63-year-old and his wife were transferred to a New York prison after being arrested by US forces at their compound in Venezuela on Saturday, as part of a surprise overnight operation that also saw strikes on military bases.

Dressed in blue and orange shirts and khaki pants, the two men wore headphones to listen to a Spanish translation during the hearing, with a lawyer seated between them. Maduro took meticulous notes on a yellow legal pad that he asked a judge to confirm he could keep with him after the hearing.

When Maduro entered the room — the same federal courtroom where Sean “Diddy” Combs had been tried and convicted just months earlier — he turned to greet several members of the audience and greet them.

He maintained this calm, expressionless demeanor during the proceedings, even at the end, when a man watching from the public space suddenly shouted that Maduro would “pay” for his crimes.

“I am president and a prisoner of war,” he shouted in Spanish to the man in the audience. The man was then escorted out of the room in tears.

The debates were also moving for the other members of the court. Maibort Petit, a Venezuelan journalist who covered Maduro’s administration, said U.S. missile strikes during Maduro’s arrest damaged his family home near Fuerte Tiuna in Caracas.

She said it was surreal to see her former leader escorted to court in prison garb by U.S. marshals.

Maduro’s wife, Flores, was much quieter, with bandages near her eyes and forehead for injuries her lawyers said she suffered during their weekend arrest.

She spoke softly, her blonde hair tied in a bun as her lawyers requested that she receive appropriate medical treatment, including an X-ray of potentially bruised ribs and a fracture.

Maduro and his wife have not requested bail during the proceedings but may do so later, meaning they will remain in federal custody.

The United States has charged Maduro with narcoterrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

Maduro was indicted alongside his wife, son and several others. The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for March 17.