Four counts were listed on the indictment, including narco-terrorism conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. Maduro has pleaded not guilty to all the charges he is faced with, CNN reported. 
 
Cameras are not allowed inside the court room. Maduro has just walked into New York Southern District court wearing a prison uniform with his feet shackled, CBS News reports. His wife is also wearing a prison outfit.
 
"I am not guilty," Maduro said in the court, "I am a decent man, I am president of my country," Maduro added, per NBC.
 
The trial has attracted attention and coverage from international media. Media outlets including the Guardian, BBC News, CBS News, and the CNN News revealed more details in their reports.
 
The Guardian reported that as Maduro entered the courtroom, shackled at the ankles though not at the wrists, he looked toward the jury box. Before sitting down, Maduro told the public gallery “Happy new year!” in English.
 
Maduro was dressed in orange slippers, a blue shirt on top of a neon orange shirt, and beige pants. He scribbled notes on a legal pad throughout the hearing, per the Guardian. 
 
Throughout the 30-minute hearing, Maduro took notes on a yellow legal pad, and he asked the judge to preserve his notes and allow him to access them, The Politico reported.
 
Maduro faces four US federal criminal counts, including “narco-terrorism” conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, per the Guardian.
 
The report also noted that Maduro’s wife had large Band-Aids on her temple and forehead. Her lawyer, Mark Donnelly, said she sustained “significant injuries during her abduction” and required medical examination for “severe bruising” on her ribs.
 
Multiple media outlets mentioned that Maduro used Spanish during his trial. He said he was “kidnapped” and “captured” from his home in Caracas, Venezuela, NBC News reported. "I am a prisoner of war," he added in Spanish. 
 
The Global Times also noted that media outlets including CBS News and the Guardian have created cartoons based on the trial proceedings.
 
The trial venue is additionally among the focal points of attention for foreign media outlets.
 
The Guardian reported that the pair were earlier brought to the court under tight security from the notorious Metropolitan detention center in Brooklyn, whose previous residents include Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, and the singer Diddy.
 
The jail also once held the former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted on drug smuggling charges in 2024 – only to be pardoned by Trump last month, per the Guardian.
 
In addition to attracting media attention, netizens have also taken notice of the incident and shared their opinions. A netizen @Patrick Elis has cast doubt on the trial, asking "Why should he plead guilty?" on TikTok, while another netizen @n.z.d8 commented "This is all about OIL"
 
The US is “creating reality TV show,” a netizen @Freddie posted on X.
 
Some Chinese netizens have also commented on the trial attendance of Maduro and his wife. 
 
Some commented in the discussion sections of relevant news stories on Sina Weibo on Tuesday, citing the ancient Chinese adage: "He who seeks to condemn will never lack pretexts." As of press time, such comment has generated nearly 700 likes.
 
Others characterized US’s forcible seizure of Maduro and his wife as "the law of the jungle in action, where the strong prey on the weak." While some decried the US actions as an outright "kidnapping."
 
Chinese netizens have also raised questions regarding Maduro and his wife's trial, saying that no matter what crimes he and his wife may be accused of, “it is not the place of the US to judge.” One Netizen also expressed that US's actions were utterly incomprehensible, adding that it had "cloaked itself in the veneer of legality."
 
Like their foreign netizens, some Chinese netizens hold that Washington’s actions are driven by "interest in Venezuela’s oil reserves." 
 
Additionally, some netizens commented that “it’s far-fetched that such kidnapping acts as those in the US can be seen in the 21st century," appealing for world peace.
 
 
Global Times