The state of emergency put in place by the Venezuelan government since the US attack that ousted President Nicolas Maduro orders police to "immediately begin the national search and capture of everyone involved in the promotion or support for the armed attack by the United States," according to a text of the decree published on Monday.
Although the decree has been in effect since Saturday, it was made public on Monday.
Arrest and charges
Maduro arrived at a New York courthouse on Monday, where he is set to face criminal charges after being flown to the US following his capture during an American military raid early Saturday morning.
The 63-year-old pleaded not guilty in federal court to four criminal counts, which include narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.
He is accused of overseeing a cocaine trafficking network that collaborated with violent groups such as Mexico's Sinaloa and Zetas cartels, the Colombian FARC rebels, and Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang. Maduro has consistently denied these allegations, claiming they mask imperialist interests in Venezuela's rich oil reserves.
Maduro calls himself 'a prisoner of war'
In addition to the criminal charges, the indictment states that Maduro and other Venezuelan leaders have, for over 25 years, "abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States."
According to a report by The New York Times, during the initial court proceedings on Monday, Maduro stated through an interpreter, “I’m innocent. “I’m not guilty,” after the presiding Judge, Alvin K. Hellerstein, asked for his plea. He added, “I am a decent man - I am still the president of my country.”
As Maduro stood to leave the courtroom, a man in the gallery shouted in Spanish that Maduro would pay for his crimes. In response, Maduro declared that he would win his freedom, referring to himself as “a prisoner of war.”