00:00Nicholas Maduro was in federal court in Lower Manhattan this afternoon and pleaded not guilty
00:04to narco-terrorism charges. Through an interpreter, he told Judge Alvin Hallerstein he's innocent,
00:09not guilty, and a decent man, the president of his country. His wife, Celia Flores,
00:14pleaded not guilty to three charges. Both wore headphones for translation. Judge Hallerstein
00:20asked him to confirm his identity. Maduro stood. The interpreter repeated the question,
00:24and he confirmed. Then he waived a public reading of the indictment. Hallerstein read him his legal
00:30rights, his right to a lawyer, right to remain silent. There are four counts against him. His
00:35wife faces three charges. If convicted, on all counts, he'll spend life in prison. By 2020,
00:41the State Department estimated 200 to 250 tons of cocaine per year moved through Venezuela. The case
00:48traces back to 2000 when Maduro was in Venezuela's National Assembly. Prosecutors say he moved
00:54cocaine under protection of the Venezuelan law enforcement. As foreign minister from 2006 to
01:002013, prosecutors alleged he sold diplomatic passports to traffickers, used government planes
01:05to move drug money from Mexico back to Venezuela. Between 2004 and 2015, prosecutors say Maduro and
01:13his wife trafficked cocaine using armed military exports. Maduro is represented by Barry Pollack,
01:19the same attorney who represented Julian Assange. Pollack said Maduro had health,
01:24health and medical issues that must be addressed. An attorney for Maduro's wife said she suffered
01:30significant injuries during her arrest. Both Maduro and his wife will return to court on March 17.
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