Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro will most likely defend himself at the trial on charges of drug and arms trafficking, which began today in New York, by claiming that his arrest constitutes a \u201cmilitary kidnapping\u201d and that the law was thereby violated, CNN reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was seized in my home in Caracas, in Venezuela,\u201d Maduro told a federal court judge in Manhattan today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maduro\u2019s statement signals what will likely be one of the main strategies of his defense\u2014that his arrest in the middle of the night in a foreign country by U.S. law enforcement authorities was a \u201cmilitary kidnapping,\u201d which, according to his lawyer, violated the law, CNN writes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is not the first time a defendant has raised this argument, and more than three decades ago Panamanian President Manuel Noriega accused the United States of violating both international law and due process protections through the invasion of Panama and his arrest abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That argument did not help Noriega, as U.S. courts refused to consider the legality of the invasion of Panama itself and focused solely on the allegations in Noriega\u2019s indictment, and it remains to be seen whether courts will revisit that precedent in Maduro\u2019s case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is unusual for a criminal defendant to say anything to the judge at an initial appearance, as defense attorneys usually warn their clients that anything they say can be used in their prosecution, CNN adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Judge Alvin Hellerstein issued a similar warning to Maduro today as the Venezuelan president spoke at his first court appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Saturday, January 3, around two hours after midnight local time, the United States arrested Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in a military operation in Caracas. They were transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York, where they will be held while standing trial on charges of drug and arms trafficking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n