Maduro arrives at NY court for first apperance since capture

NEW YORK — Toppled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro arrived at a New York court on Monday to face U.S. drug trafficking charges after President Donald Trump's stunning capture of him rattled world leaders and left officials in Caracas scrambling to respond. U.N. Chief Antonio Guterres raised concerns about instability in Venezuela and the legality of Trump's strike, the most dramatic U.S. intervention in Latin America since the 1989 Panama invasion. U.S. Special Forces swooped into Caracas by helicopter on Saturday, shattered his security cordon and dragged him from the threshold of a safe room. On Monday morning, Maduro — his hands zip-tied — and his wife Cilia Flores were escorted by armed guards in tactical gear from a Brooklyn detention center to a helicopter bound for Manhattan federal court where they faced a noon (1700 GMT) hearing. Maduro is accused of overseeing a cocaine-trafficking network that partnered with violent groups including Mexico’s Sinaloa and Zetas cartels, Colombian FARC rebels and Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang. Maduro, 63, has long denied the allegations