Former Venezuelan Pres. Maduro and wife plead not guilty to federal drug trafficking, other charges

Former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty Monday to federal drug trafficking, weapons, and narco-terrorism charges during their first appearance in a Manhattan federal courtroom, days after being seized by U.S. forces and flown to New York. Outside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, groups of protesters gathered, with some calling for Maduro’s release and others backing the U.S. operation that led to his arrest. Maduro and Flores appeared before U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in lower Manhattan and remain detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Their next court date