0h 25min, jan 5, 2026 y - Maduro's Court Hearing

Description:

The sound of clanking leg shackles could be heard moments before Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro walked through the doorway of a New York City courtroom for the first time.

He then told packed rows of reporters and the public that he had just been "kidnapped".

Minutes after his entrance, the Judge Alvin Hellerstein asked Maduro to confirm his identity so the proceedings could start.

"I am, sir, Nicolás Maduro. I am president of the Republic of Venezuela and I am here kidnapped since January 3rd," he told the court in a calm Spanish before an interpreter translated for the court. "I was captured at my home in Caracas, Venezuela."

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