MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, landed by helicopter on the New York City waterfront today, where they were escorted to a Manhattan courtroom - a courtroom surrounded by protesters. NPR immigration correspondent Jasmine Garsd was there in that Manhattan courtroom, watching as Maduro pleaded not guilty to federal criminal charges. Jasmine is here now. Hey there.
JASMINE GARSD, BYLINE: Hi.
KELLY: Tell us more what actually happened in court today.
GARSD: It was a bizarre scene inside the courthouse. Maduro was wearing his prison uniform, and as he walked out, he kept looking at reporters in the eye and wishing them a happy new year in English. When he was asked by the judge to identify himself, Maduro did so as the president of Venezuela, and he also said he's a prisoner of war who has been kidnapped by the U.S. He and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, from narcoterrorism to weapons crimes.
KELLY: Right. Flores, his wife, also, as you mentioned, stands accused of various charges, drug trafficking, etc. Did she say anything?
GARSD: She was mostly quiet. She introduced herself as the first lady of Venezuela. But, you know, it was her appearance that was striking. Her right eye seemed swollen, and her forehead was bandaged in what lawyers said was an injury sustained during the U.S. military operation this past Saturday. They asked for medical attention, both for her and for Maduro. Now, overall, I'd say the proceedings were tense. As it wrapped up, Maduro was escorted out, and a heckler stood up and said, you will pay in the name of the Venezuelan people. Maduro turned around and said to him, I'm a man of God.
KELLY: A man of God - so he sounds confident, unbowed. He's going to fight these charges. We mentioned protests outside the courtroom today. Tell me more about those.
GARSD: So by the time Maduro appeared in court, there was a sizable crowd outside - protesters and counterprotesters. On the one hand, you had this contingent protesting American intervention in Venezuela. I met one young man, Ebtesham Ahmed, who said this should alarm all Americans.
EBTESHAM AHMED: None of these wars go to benefit the people of the United States. They take away, you know, funding for health care, funding for education, funding for, you know, other social services and direct it to buying new weapons, to buying bombs. And we've seen this story play out in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam and Libya. And the U.S., it seems like, is on track to do it again in Venezuela.
GARSD: But there was also a very emotional crowd of Venezuelans decked out in flags, cheering for the arrest of Maduro and confronting those who were calling for his release. I met a woman named Maria Seu, who's been in the U.S. for about 10 years. She pointed at those protesters, and this is what she said to me.
MARIA SEU: (Speaking Spanish).
GARSD: And what she's saying is, "You know why they get to protest? Because this is a free country with freedom of speech. I'd like to see them try to protest against Maduro in Venezuela and see what happens."
KELLY: So where does the case against Maduro and Cilia Flores, where does it go from here?
GARSD: This is going to be a long, long battle. The next hearing is going to be on March 17. Meanwhile, Maduro and his wife are going to remain in jail here in New York City until then.
KELLY: NPR's Jasmine Garsd in New York. Thank you, Jasmine.
GARSD: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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