Maduro Arrives at US Court Over Drug Trafficking Charges

Maduro and his wife are expected to appear at noon before a judge for a brief, but required, legal proceeding that will likely kick off a prolonged legal fight over whether he can be put on trial in the U.S.

His lawyers are expected to contest the legality of his arrest , arguing he is immune from prosecution as a sovereign head of a foreign state. But the U.S. doesn’t recognize him as Venezuela’s legitimate leader .

Maduro, along with his wife, son and three others, is accused of working with drug cartels to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S. They could face life in prison if convicted.

Maduro’s lawyer helped free Wikileaks founder Julian Assange Maduro has retained Barry J. Pollack, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer known for securing Assange’s release from prison and winning an acquittal for former Enron accountant Michael Krautz.

Pollack, a partner at the law firm Harris, St. Laurent & Wechsler, negotiated Assange’s 2024 plea agreement — allowing him to go free immediately after he pleaded guilty to an Espionage Act charge for obtaining and publishing U.S. military secrets.

Krautz, acquitted of federal fraud charges in 2006 after a hung jury the year before, was one of the only Enron executives whose case ended in a not-guilty verdict. Nearly two-dozen other executives were convicted of wrongdoing in connection with the energy trading giant’s collapse.

Pollack also helped secure the exoneration of Martin Tankleff, a Long Island man who spent 17 years in prison for the murders of his parents before his conviction was overturned.

UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Monday after the US raid in Venezuela The top United Nations official warns America may have violated international law with its unilateral action.

In a statement, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he remains “deeply concerned that rules of international law have not been respected with regard to the 3 January military action.”

He added that that the “grave” action by the U.S. could set a precedent for how future relations between and among states are conducted.

‘Good news’ for Hungary Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Monday said he believes the U.S. military operation in Venezuela would lead to the country’s vast oil reserves becoming available on global energy markets, something he said was “good news” for Hungary.

Speaking at a news conference in Hungary’s capital Budapest, Orbán, a close Trump ally, said he sees “a serious chance that as a result of Venezuela being brought under (U.S.) control, a more favorable position for Hungary will be created on the world energy market.”

“We think the Americans will be able to bring Venezuelan oil wealth into world trade,” he continued. “That means that supply will increase, and the increase in supply will lead to cheaper prices.”

When asked about the implications of the U.S. action for international legal frameworks, Orbán spoke disparagingly about the role international law plays in regulating countries’ behavior, saying such rules “do not govern the decisions of many great powers, this is completely obvious.”

Protesters have begun gathering outside the courthouse The small but growing group of about 50 protesters across the street from Manhattan federal court were separated by New York Police Department community service officers from about a dozen pro-intervention demonstrators.

The officers used bicycle rack-style metal barricades to separate the two groups.

“No War For Venezuelan Oil,” “No To Criminal Trump Invasion” and “No Blood For Oil” were among the signs. One man among a small group of about a dozen pro-intervention individuals pulled a Venezuelan flag away from those protesting the U.S. action.

Demonstrators were observed, recorded and interviewed by some of the more than 100 members of the media who had reserved their places outside hours earlier.

Crude prices rise and oil company shares jump after the US raid on Venezuela U.S. stocks are rising at the open led by technology and energy stocks.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6% early Monday and the Nasdaq composite added 0.7%. The Dow gained 330 points, or 0.7%.

The price of U.S. crude oil gained 1% after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a weekend raid. Shares of Chevron and ConocoPhillips jumped after President Trump floated a plan for U.S. oil companies to help rebuild Venezuela’s oil industry.

Gold gained 2.4% and the price of silver soared 7.6%. Nvidia, Intel and other tech shares rose as the industry kicks off its annual CES trade show in Las Vegas.