'I am innocent. I am not guilty,' Maduro told the court, according to journalists present at the hearing. He told the court he had been 'kidnapped' from his residence in Caracas and insisted that, despite being in US custody, he was still the president of Venezuela.
Maduro appeared alongside his wife, Cilia Flores, who also rejected all charges levelled against her by US prosecutors, saying she was completely innocent.
The court set March 17 as the date for the next hearing in the case.
The courtroom proceedings were tense and closely watched, coming just days after Maduro and Flores were seized in a dramatic US military operation. According to US officials, special forces extracted the pair from their residence within the heavily guarded Fort Tiuna military complex in the Venezuelan capital early on Saturday before flying them to New York.
During Monday's hearing, a brief but heated exchange broke out between Maduro and a member of the public in the courtroom. At one point, Maduro described himself as a 'prisoner of war".
Earlier in the day, images circulated showing Maduro and Flores being transferred to the courthouse in handcuffs, surrounded by heavily armed officers. The scenes fuelled strong reactions both inside Venezuela and internationally.
In Caracas, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as interim president, a move that Venezuelan authorities said was aimed at ensuring continuity of government. During the ceremony, Rodríguez praised Maduro and Flores as 'heroes,' accusing the United States of carrying out an illegal act against a sovereign nation.
Outside the New York courthouse, protesters gathered to denounce the US action. Demonstrators waved banners reading 'Free Maduro,' 'No War on Venezuela,' and 'USA hands off Venezuela,' while chanting slogans against what they described as foreign intervention.
The US operation has triggered widespread condemnation and raised serious concerns across the international community, with critics warning that it represents a dangerous escalation in Washington's long-running campaign against Maduro.
US officials have said the operation was planned for months and carried out without prior congressional authorisation. The Trump administration has defended the move as part of broader efforts to combat alleged drug trafficking networks linked to the Venezuelan leadership.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
