TRANSCRIPT:
Nicolás Maduro, the former Venezuelan President, has pleaded not guilty to US charges following his capture and transfer to New York.
The 63-year-old entered his plea in a New York federal court to charges of narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.
Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Maduro told the court he is innocent, a decent man and remains the president of Venezuela.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani says Mr Maduro's not-guilty plea was as legal analysts had expected.
"We rarely see a guilty plea at the initial arraignment. The defence needs time to review the discovery, which is the evidence in the case, and negotiate a deal. I don't think there's a deal to be had in this case, especially with respect to Maduro, given how defiant he was in court today and the fact that any plea would effectively be a life sentence in a federal prison here in the United States. I expect this case to go to trial."
Mr Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, was also charged and also pleaded not guilty.
The pair are set to appear for their next court hearing on the 17th of March.
Prosecutors allege Mr Maduro oversaw a cocaine-trafficking network linked to Mexico’s Sinaloa and Zetas cartels, Colombia’s FARC rebels and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang.
Typically, a head of state can't be prosecuted, but US defence attorney Ilan Katz says the U-S government is arguing Mr Maduro is not recognised as a head of state under US law.
"So under this logic, by which certain criminal organisations, in this case Cartel de los Soles in Venezuela, has been deemed a terrorist organisation, the viewpoint is we are not looking at the president of Venezuela, we are looking at a terrorist under US law and therefore we can detain him whenever or wherever we can."
Dozens of protesters, both pro- and anti-Maduro, gathered outside the courthouse before the half-hour hearing.
Outside the Brooklyn Detention Centre where Mr Maduro is being held, anti-war protesters say the trial has nothing to do with protecting Venezuelans.
"You know, I'm here because I think it's outrageous what the US government did in Venezuela. Whatever you may think of the Maduro government, that's not the issue. But the US government has no right to go into a sovereign country and basically openly say, ‘We're going to take the oil, we're going to take the gold, we're going to exploit the resources.’ This has nothing to do with defending the working people of Venezuela."
Venezuelan officials report more than 80 people, civilians as well as military and intelligence personnel, were killed in the US attacks in the capital Caracas, and in the region of La Guaira and the neighbouring states of Miranda and Aragua.
In a statement given after an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his deep concerns about the US strikes and capture of the Venezuelan President.
As international criticism builds over the assault, so too do fears over the possibility of similar military operations elsewhere.
President Trump has warned Colombia's leader he could be the next to face such action, accusing him - without providing any evidence - of making cocaine and selling it to the US.
TRUMP: "Colombia is very sick too. Run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he's not going to be doing it for very long, let me tell you.”
JOURNALIST: "What does that mean? So there will be an operation by the US in Colombia?"
TRUMP: "Sounds good to me. Yeah."
Colombian citizen Fernando Munoz Bernal says Donald Trump has shown a blatant disregard for international law, and Colombian residents fear he will now be emboldened to act elsewhere.
"This is historic and chilling. It's so easy for America to violate international law, to violate the United Nations Charter, and nobody is going to stop him. So I'm extremely worried, little sleep, and I'm Colombian, I'm not Venezuelan. But I see these steps of a big animal coming down the path. I think that we're next."
In the US, democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warns any further US military action would have disastrous effects.
"The chaos Donald Trump has engendered in Venezuela... and if Donald Trump tries to do to Colombia and Greenland what he did in Venezuela, the disasters and consequences could compound to be exponential, as bad as Venezuela alone was going to be."
