Name: Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro pleads not guilty to drugs charges | BBC News
Uploaded: 2026-01-06T08:25:39.000Z
Duration: 2 min 30 s
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Some breaking news from the courthouse in Manhattan.

Adverbs of degree

Nicholas Maduro is now in court, has just pleaded not guilty to the charges that have been put against him.

Let's go back to Claire Richardson who's in Manhattan.

Christian, that's very much the timeline we would have expected, this arraignment hearing having started about 17 minutes ago.

And these typically being fairly short affairs, rights will be read, charges will be read, and

then, as you say, the plea entered in this case, not guilty for Nicolas Maduro.

And we do know the BBC's partner stationed CBS News reporting that Maduro entered that courtroom wearing a prison garb, headphones for translations to be made, also with his feet shackled.

His wife Celia had the same clothes on, both their hands unshackled.

So just to give you a sense of those scenes unfolding in this lower Manhattan courtroom where this arraignment hearing is taking place, I do also want to bring in our correspondent Michelle Fleury, who's been covering this story for us.

Tell us a little bit about the judge who's presiding over this case, Judge Alvin Hellerstein, quite an interesting character.

Yeah, I mean, he has been he's, as you point out, 92 years old.

He's been sort of working on the bench here for several decades now.

He has plenty of experience of sensitive cases, if you think back to sort of some of those that have taken place in this building handling compensation for victims related to 9, 11.

He was also the judge providing over the case of the film producer Harvey Weinstein.

Another thing particularly relevant here is that over the summer he was the judge who heard the guilty plea from a senior Venezuelan intelligence official who pled guilty.

So the question, the reason that's sort of significant is one, he has experience of kind of dealing with some of these types of charges.

I think that there are sort of similar drug charges involved, but

also whether or not that particular defendant in that case will he cooperate with the U.S.

justice Department and help them build their case against Nicolas Maduro.

So this is a judge who's kind of familiar with some of the questions around this and there will be lots.

But obviously we've never seen anything quite like this, at least not for many decades, involving obviously the leader of a head of state appearing in federal court facing criminal charges.

And I think that speaks to sort of some of the kind of febrile atmosphere we're seeing outside the courthouse right now.