Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will appear Thursday in a New York court for the second time since his capture by U.S. forces in a nighttime raid.
Maduro, 63, and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been held in a Brooklyn jail for nearly three months after being captured by U.S. forces in Caracas in early January.
The operation deposed the strongman, who had led the country since 2013, and increased U.S. influence over the country under President Donald Trump.
Maduro has declared himself a "prisoner of war" and pleaded not guilty to the four counts of "narco-terrorism" conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
Thursday's hearing at 11 a.m. EDT will likely see Maduro push for the dismissal of his case as lawyers tussle over who will pay the former leader's legal fees.
Venezuela's government is seeking to cover the costs. But because of Washington's sanctions, his lawyer, Barry Pollack, must obtain a U.S. license that has not been issued.
Pollack argued in a court submission that the license requirement violated Maduro's constitutional right to legal representation and demanded the case be thrown out on procedural grounds.
Deadly Raid
Detained in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal prison known for unsanitary conditions, Maduro is reportedly alone in a cell with no access to the internet or newspapers.
A source close to the Venezuelan government said the incarcerated Maduro reads the Bible and is referred to as "president" by some of his fellow detainees.
He is allowed to communicate only by phone with his family and lawyers for a maximum of 15 minutes per call, the source added.
"The lawyers told us he is strong. He said we must not be sad," said his son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, adding his father told him: "We are fine. We are fighters."
Maduro and his wife were taken into custody by U.S. forces early Jan. 3 during a military operation in Caracas that included airstrikes and support from aircraft and naval assets.
Venezuelan officials said at least 83 people were killed and more than 112 were injured in the operation. No U.S. service members were killed.
US Pressure
At his first U.S. court appearance in January, Maduro struck a defiant tone as he identified himself as the president of Venezuela despite being captured.
The South American country is now led by Delcy Rodriguez, who had been Maduro's vice president since 2018.
Amid pressure from the United States, she is leading a country with the world's largest proven oil reserves and a struggling economy.
Rodriguez has since enacted a historic amnesty law to free political prisoners jailed under Maduro and reformed oil and mining regulations in line with U.S. demands for access to her country's vast natural wealth.
This month, the State Department said it was restoring diplomatic ties with Venezuela in a sign of thawing relations.
Security is expected to be heightened around the New York courthouse for Thursday's hearing.
Presiding over the case is Alvin Hellerstein, a 92-year-old judge credited with overseeing several high-profile trials during his decades on the bench.