Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty to narco-terrorism charges in a New York federal court on Monday, following their capture in a U.S. military operation.

They are accused of using Maduro’s authority to facilitate large-scale cocaine shipments to the United States and could face life in prison if convicted.

Their next court appearance is scheduled for March 17, and both are being held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.

Maduro called himself a “kidnapped president” and a “prisoner of war” as he left the courtroom, Yahoo News has reported.

President Trump defended the operation as a national security measure and hinted at possible further U.S. military involvement in Latin America and Greenland.