President protests innocence in US court as countries at UN meeting condemn Donald Trump’s ‘crime of aggression’

• Venezuela crisis – latest updates

The deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro pleaded not guilty to drugs, weapons and narco-terrorism charges on Monday, two days after his capture by US special forces in an operation ordered by Donald Trump that sent shockwaves around the world.

The brevity and formality of the arraignment hearing in federal court in Manhattan – barely 30 minutes during which Maduro was asked to confirm his name and that he understood the four charges against him – belied the far-reaching consequences of the US action.

The Venezuelan leader entered a heartfelt not guilty plea – and told a member of the gallery he was a prisoner of war

• Venezuela crisis – latest updates

At noon on Monday, Nicolás Maduro was escorted into a Manhattan federal courtroom following his capture early on Saturday in Caracas, completing the seized Venezuelan leader’s stunning journey from his capital city to a US courtroom.

It was a surreal display amid the fallout of a brazen US military operation to grab Maduro that has roiled global politics and stunned observers in the US and overseas.