Maduro appears in New York court after US operation in Venezuela

Many protesters said they believe the US intervention in Venezuela is driven not by "justice" but by "oil." Among them was Imani Henry, who said he has been to Venezuela and "experienced firsthand the rally there that supports Maduro."

"It's about oil. (Like) Iran, Afghanistan, it's about oil … Steal a sovereign president and declare to run their country, and declare that we are gonna steal oil reserves. It's about people and people's needs, not about stealing the reserves for your own profit," Henry told China Daily.

He added: "We have seen this kind of complete and utter disruption of people's sovereignty. Why am I here today? Because I'm tired of Latin America and the Caribbean being completely usurped of our power, our independence by the US government."

Maduro and his wife were charged with narco-terrorism. According to the 25-page indictment, Maduro and others allegedly worked with drug cartels to ship thousands of tons of cocaine into the US.

Maduro pleaded not guilty. Speaking in Spanish, he said: "I'm innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country," while emphasizing that he had been "kidnapped." Flores appeared in court with bandages on her temple and forehead, and her lawyer said she suffered "significant injuries" during the capture.

"We wanted to support president Maduro, he's been illegally captured by President Donald Trump … Maduro has won every election for years following Hugo Chavez. Nicolas Maduro has been a legitimate president of Venezuela elected by the Venezuelan people," protester Lallan Schoenstein told China Daily.

Schoenstein added: "His (Trump's) all interest in Venezuela is stealing the resources, precious metals, and oil from Venezuela … He is stealing a president of a sovereign nation, it is a criminal activity."

shiguang@chinadailyusa.com