‘Unbelievable to Watch’: CNN’s Laura Coates Described Scene Inside Maduro Courtroom Including His Wife With ‘Visible Injuries’

Both Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, showed signs of injuries when they appeared in a Manhattan courtroom Monday, according to CNN legal analyst Laura Coates.

The couple was taken into custody Saturday by U.S. Special Forces following an intense operation inside Venezuela.

“This was unbelievable, to watch Nicolas Maduro walk into a courtroom here in the United States of America,” Coates began, before describing what appeared to be physical infirmities.

“She [Flores] had visible injuries in terms of bandages on her right temple and on her forehead as well,” Coates said.

“Both of them appeared to be a little bit stoic, and also having difficulty sitting and getting up from their chairs,” Coates continued. “Nicolas Maduro, in particular, had to brace himself on either side of the arm of his chair to lower his body, which is very particularly tall.”

Coates said both defendants wore headsets with Spanish translation, but said Maduro appeared to understand English.

“I will note at one point in time, there was a moment when he responded the judge directly, without having first been translated, presumably that he may have understood, particularly in English. I also note that during the conversation he would look over to his wife, who, as I mentioned, had bandages on her temple and also to her forehead that was referenced by her attorney when they were talking about medical attention,” she said.

Coates said that despite his apparent infirmities, “Maduro was assertive. He was confident. His voice was loud, and he was quite intentional about every word he was saying.”

“He wanted to describe what he perceives as a heightened indignity of having been removed from his home and having been captured, describing himself as a prisoner of war,” Coates said.

Both Maduro and Flores pled not guilty to narco-trafficking charges. The U.S. has accused them of conspiring to traffic “tons of cocaine” into the country.

Watch above via CNN.