Ousted Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro returned to court today alongside his wife after spending nearly three months inside a grim federal prison.
It marks Maduro, 63, and former first lady Cilia Flores's first appearance before a New York judge since their arraignment, having been held at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after their dramatic arrests in January.
Dressed in prison-issued pants and top, with leg shackles, the socialist leader looked noticeably thinner in the face as he entered the courtroom.
He smiled politely and greeted his team in English, telling his lawyer Barry Pollack he looked 'elegant'.
Wife Cilia Flores, 69, meanwhile, appeared to have fully recovered from her reported injuries sustained during the couple's capture - no longer wearing bandages or sporting any visible bruises on her face.
Maduro's attorneys sought to have his drug trafficking indictment thrown out over a geopolitical dispute over legal fees.
The hearing kicked off with the defense and prosecution arguing over whether Maduro should be allowed to use Venezuelan government funds to pay for his defense. The defense has insisted that the US is violating the deposed leader's constitutional rights by blocking government money from being used for his legal costs.
At one point, Maduro's lawyer said the solution is simply to throw out the case.
Maduro, 63, and former first lady Cilia Flores, 69, are charged with a conspiracy to traffic drugs from Venezuela to the United States after their dramatic capture in Caracas early this year.
The judge retorted: 'I'm not going to dismiss the case.'
Maduro and Flores had spent more than a decade enjoying an opulent life as Venezuela's president and first lady, but have been forced to adjust to life in the troubled prison whose former inmates include R Kelly, Diddy, and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Earlier, a convoy of dark SUVs and law enforcement vehicles were spotted leaving the MDC before dawn Thursday morning, believed to be carrying Maduro and Flores to court.
It's a stark contrast to their first high-profile court hearing, when the two were dramatically flown by helicopter from a soccer field near the jail to a helipad in Manhattan and then taken to court in armored vehicles.
Police officers and security were also present at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse as supporters of the dictator gathered outside ahead of the hearing.
A group of around 50 protesters were seen holding up signs reading 'Free Nicolas Maduro' and chanting he was a 'prisoner of war'.
US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein heard from both sides about the progress to trial but it risks turning into another spectacle.
During his initial appearance before the court in January, Maduro got into a shouting match with a man in the public gallery and claimed he was 'kidnapped' from Caracas by US Special Forces on January 3 in an audacious raid approved by Donald Trump.
A motorcade believed to be carrying the ousted Venezuelan president to his federal court appearance was seen departing the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn before daybreak Thursday.
An effigy with the likeness of ousted Venezuelan president is hung from a tree outside the courthouse ahead of Thursday's pre-trial hearing.
As he left the court Maduro shouted at the public gallery that 'I'm a man of God' and claimed he was a 'prisoner of war'.
Maduro and Flores are charged with a conspiracy to traffic drugs from Venezuela to the United States.
Prosecutors allege that involved the kidnappings and murders of those who stood in their way including a drug boss in Caracas.
They face life in jail if convicted.
Their arrest came after months of pressure on Maduro and his allies by the Trump administration which imposed a blockade on ships leaving the country.
Since then Trump has bragged that he is 'running' the country under the leadership of Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela 's acting president.
She has released political prisoners and reorganized the country's leadership; however Maduro's party remains in power.
Venezuela has also re-established diplomatic relations with the US for the first time in seven years.
The Venezuelan strongman was photographed arriving at the Wall Street Heliport in New York City on January 5.
Supporters of the dictator were seen gathering outside the courthouse with flags and signs demanding his release.
During their first appearance in court in January, Maduro and Flores were flown by helicopter from Brooklyn to Manhattan and taken by armored vehicle to the court.
Flores's lawyer Mark Donnelly asked that she be given an X-ray because she had sustained 'significant injuries' during her apprehension.
There was a 'fracture or severe injuries to her ribs', Donnelly said.
Last month Maduro's lawyer Barry Pollack, who has previously represented Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, asked the court to dismiss the case and said he would have to withdraw from the case if sanctions were not lifted so he could get paid by the Venezuelan government.
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) granted a waiver on January 9 to accept money from Maduro to pay his legal fees.
But Pollack claims that it 'reversed course' three hours later.
OFAC said in court papers it was a mistake to approve the release of the funds, which is opposed by prosecutors who say Maduro should use his own money for his defense.
Maduro, who reportedly owns numerous mansions, two private jets and a horse farm, claims he cannot afford to pay for his own lawyers.
The two have been in custody at the MDC - described by former inmates as 'hell on Earth' - and Maduro and his wife are likely to spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement in a cell.
In the past MDC prisoners have complained about unsanitary conditions and inedible food that was microwaved into the plastic container it came in.
During Maxwell's detention at the MDC before her 2021 trial for child sex trafficking, she claimed that her hair was falling out from the stress of the conditions.