Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arrive at a heliport in Manhattan/Screengrab

A United Nations Security Council meeting on the current situation in Venezuela has just begun.

The agenda for the emergency meeting is listed as discussing "threats to international peace and security".

Our reporters will be watching live and we'll bring you updates on any key developments.

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A little earlier we heard from former UK national security adviser Sir Mark Lyall Grant, who says the UK and other European nations are "in a very difficult position".

Sir Mark, who also formerly served as the UK ambassador and permanent representative to the UN, tells BBC Radio 4's World at One programme that the US's actions are "almost certainly not" legal under international law.

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France and the UK will be “very keen” not to talk about the legality of the operation at the UN, he says, adding he expects them instead to focus on what comes next for Venezuela.

At the emergency session of the UN's Security Council, under-secretary general Rosemary DiCarlo has read out a statement on behalf of Secretary General António Guterres.

Guterres says that he is "deeply concerned that rules of international law have not been respected" when it comes to the US's actions in Venezuela.

The statement says: "I am deeply concerned about the possible intensification of instability in the country, the potential impact on the region, and the precedent it may set for how relations between and among states are conducted."

A couple of dozen protesters have gathered outside the court as we get closer to the hearing for Maduro and his wife.

They're chanting in Spanish, with the number of pro-Maduro protesters appearing to outnumber the anti-Maduro demonstrators.

The space has become crowded as hordes of press have gathered around the people chanting.

Many of those gathered are holding Venezuelan flags and signs.

Venezuela's seized president Nicolás Maduro will soon appear at a New York court, charged with various drugs and weapons offences.

Dramatic images earlier showed Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores being transferred to the courthouse in handcuffs, surrounded by armed officers.

The pair were taken from their Caracas compound on Saturday and flown to the US as part of a special forces operation.