Venezuela’s ousted first lady showed up in Manhattan court Monday with bandages on her face and an apparently bruised right eye — injuries her lawyer suggested occurred when she was captured by US forces.
Mark Donnelly, the Texas lawyer repping Cilia Flores, said the wife of booted dictator Nicolas Maduro suffered “significant injuries”— including a possible rib fracture and bruising — during the couple’s extraordinary arrest in Caracas on Saturday.
Donnelly asked for his client — who appeared to have bruising on her right eye during her first appearance in federal court alongside her husband — to undergo a full X-ray to ensure her health while in federal custody.
Cilia Flores is seen being led by a DEA agent after arriving in New York City on Saturday. via REUTERS
The Venezuelan former first lady and hubby dictator Nicolas Maduro are transported to a Manhattan courthouse Monday. ZUMAPRESS.comFlores, 69, had two bandages on her face, one above her eye and another on her forehead, during her arraignment, where she pleaded not guilty to conspiring to send cocaine into the US and other gun and drug-related raps.
“Not guilty, completely innocent,” she said in court, speaking through a Spanish interpreter.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein instructed federal prosecutors to work with Flores’ defense lawyer to make sure she gets the treatment that she needs.
Maduro and his wife (right) appear with government crony Delcy Rodriguez — now the so-called acting president of the country — in 2018. APHere’s the latest on Nicolás Maduro’s capture:
- http://Trump to meet Venezuelan opposition leader, would be 'great honor' to receive her Nobel Peace PrizeTrump to meet Venezuelan opposition leader, would be ‘great honor’ to receive her Nobel Peace Prize
- Trump ‘surprised’ Mamdani ‘hit me’ on Venezuela — but praises NYC mayor’s ‘great personality’
- US capture of Maduro could lead to rise in defense spending: analyst
- Interim Venezuelan president names Maduro’s torture czar as head of security
Maduro’s lawyer separately said his client had health problems that needed attention, too.
Celia and her husband face up to life in prison — and the potential death penalty — if convicted on the various charges that US authorities have cited as justification for their sudden move over the weekend to forcibly remove Maduro from power.
