Handcuffed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were produced in Manhattan Federal Court of New York, flanked by US marshals.
In court, Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty. Maduro said, ‘I am still the president of my country, I am a decent man’. Cilia Flores said,’ I am the first lady of the Republic of Venezuela. I am not guilty, I am completely innocent.
Cilia Flores had bandages on her forehead and right temple when she entered the courtroom, flanked by security personnel. Her defence attorney said Flores would need a physical evaluation and potential treatment for “significant injuries” she sustained during the “abduction.”
Maduro sought consular help from the local Venezuelan embassy. The judge adjourned the next hearing to March 17.
Meanwhile, in the UN Security Council, ambassadors of Russia, Iran, France, Denmark and Colombia condemned the military action and abduction of Maduro and his wife, while the American ambassador listed the drug-related smuggling charges against Maduro.
Overall, it was less of a court hearing and more of a public display of American might. Both the Venezuelan president and his wife were handcuffed and dragged by US marshals towards the New York court as dreaded criminals, and images of this were flashed live across the world.
The US is trying to show to the world that Maduro is not a president, but an international criminal who must be dealt with severely.
After abducting Maduro and his wife from their bedroom in Caracas and airlifting them, US President Donald Trump has clearly set his next targets: Colombia, Mexico, Cuba and Greenland.
US Vice President JD Vance has already said that American dominance on Western Hemisphere will continue. Meanwhile, in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, Maduro’s colleague Delcy Rodrigues has been installed as interim president. Delcy Rodrigues was the vice-president for the last seven years.
Soon after she took over, Trump issued her a clear warning: “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.”
Trump has now set his eyes on Colombia. Trump implicitly warned Colombian President Gustavo Petro when he told reporters: “Colombia is very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And he’s not going to be doing it very long.. Let me tell you”.
Asked if he had similar plans for Cuba, Trump said, “Cuba looks like it’s ready to fall. Cuba now has no income. They got all of their income from Venezuela, from Venezuelan oil. They’re not getting any of it. Cuba literally is ready to fall.”
Trump is literally following the Monroe Doctrine. It was floated by America’s fifth President James Monroe, nearly 200 years ago in 1823.
At that time, Monroe had said, the Western Hemisphere is closed to future colonisation and any European interference in the region will be seen as hostile. In return, he pledged US neutrality in European conflicts and promised the US would not meddle in their existing colonies.
The doctrine established distinct spheres of influence and asserted US dominance in the North and South Americas.
Panama is also on Trump’s radar. The US wants to control the Panama Canal that links the Pacific to the Atlantic.
In Mexico, Trump is considering bombing cartels trafficking fentanyl to the United States. There are already protests in Mexico and President Claudia Sheinbaum has taken part in protests. Trump says, drug cartels have taken control of power in Mexico and Claudia Sheinbaum fears taking action against them.
The most astonishing part is Greenland.
Denmark has been in control of Greenland since 1814. When Denmark and Norway separated in 1814, Greenland was transferred from the Norwegian to the Danish crown. Denmark ended Greenland's status as a colony, and integrated it fully into the Danish state.
Moreover, Denmark has been a NATO ally and the US is expected to provide protection to Denmark. There are two main reasons why Trump wants to annex Greenland.
One, it has vast reserves of rare earth resources which the US covets, and two, Trump feels both Russia and China are trying to expand their dominance in the North Pole region and the European countries cannot counter them. The US already has a military base in Greenland.
The world is astonished by how the US used its army to kidnap the head of state of a country from his bedroom and took him and his wife as prisoners to be produced in its court.
Does international law allow this? Trump says, America will now “run” Venezuela. There are speculations in American media that the US covets the huge crude reserves that Venezuela has. Secondly, the US does not want Venezuela to sell its crude to any country in any currency other than the US dollar. The US does not want China to buy Venezuelan crude in its currency, yuan.
Venezuela is not the first country to face action from the US for not selling its crude in petro dollars. Iraq and Libya had tried similar things in the past. The world knows what happened to Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi.
When Nicolas Maduro and his wife were produced in handcuffs in a US court, their fate was sealed. But the main question is: Will the people of Venezuela accept that a foreign power will control their nation?
Will the people of Venezuela accept that their resources will be used to strengthen American economy instead of being spent on their welfare?
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