Deposed Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro and his wife stood in a Manhattan Courthouse in New York and declared their innocence of drug trafficking and gun running charges, as alleged by the US Government.

Maduro and his wife, who were both captured by US Military agents during an early Saturday morning in Venezuela, were whisked off to New York by Saturday night and made their first Court appearance this midday.

Maduro told the Court that he is the President of a sovereign nation and is innocent of all of the charges contained in the US indictment against him. His wife, Celia Flores, also entered a not guilty plea as they both stood in the Courtroom with a battery of lawyers at their side.

Having listened to initial pleadings in the case, the Judge ordered that the two remain in custody. Their next Court appearance will be in March.

More details are coming to light on the US military operation that captured the Venezuelan leader and his wife, leaving scores of members of their security teams dead.

The operation was launched just after 10pm on Friday night, but the US team moved in over Venezuela at around 2am on Saturday, striking several targets including military stock yards government security facilities.

Within two hours, Maduro and wife were captured and flown out of the country. The Vice President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodrigues, has since been sworn in as the interim President as the US faces international criticism over its operation.

At a press conference on Saturday, the US President said the US will be running the country until it is ready for a smooth transition. He said major oil companies will also be moving in to fix the country’s oil facilities.

Since then, US officials have been offering different explanations as to how exactly the running of Venezuela will be done by the US Government. The United Nations Security Council also convened a special meeting today where the majority of its members openly lashed out at the US for its actions in Venezuela.

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