Maduro set for new US court hearing in trafficking case

Venezuela’s ousted President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are scheduled to appear back in a US courtroom Wednesday for a hearing focused on the upcoming schedule in their drug trafficking case, including discussion of a possible trial start date in June 2027.

The hearing before US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein is set to begin at noon Eastern time in Manhattan federal court and could offer insight into the next steps in what has become one of the most high profile and consequential criminal cases in recent US history.

Lawyers for both sides indicated in a filing that Maduro’s first round of legal motions seeking to have the case dismissed would come due on September 2. Those motions are expected to include an argument that Maduro should be immune from prosecution based on his position as head of a sovereign state. During Maduro’s first court appearance on January 5, his defense attorney Barry Pollack suggested the defense could also challenge the indictment by arguing that Maduro’s capture may not have been carried out legally.

Maduro, a socialist leader who maintained an antagonistic relationship with Washington throughout his time leading Venezuela from 2013 until his capture, referred to himself as a prisoner of war during that January appearance. He has long accused the United States of seeking to remove him from power in order to gain greater influence over Venezuela’s substantial oil reserves.

The United States describes Maduro as a corrupt dictator whose economic mismanagement led to Venezuela’s economic collapse, and accuses him of rigging reelection victories in 2018 and 2024. Washington stopped recognizing him as Venezuela’s legitimate president in 2019. Ahead of the January operation that led to his capture, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an advisory opinion stating that it would be lawful for Trump to authorize the operation unilaterally, arguing it served an important national interest without rising to the level of a war requiring congressional approval.

According to Tuesday’s filing, lawyers for both sides said Maduro could submit a second round of legal motions by January 11, 2027, following the prosecution’s handover of any classified evidence for defense review.

Maduro last appeared in court on March 26 for a hearing concerning a US government restriction that barred Venezuela’s government from covering his legal fees. That dispute was resolved about a month later, when Washington agreed to adjust its financial sanctions on Venezuela to permit the government to pay those fees.

Venezuela has been governed since Maduro’s capture by his former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, who has cultivated closer ties with the Trump administration. Washington has eased sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, and foreign companies have expanded oil and gas operations within the country. The US military has also provided relief assistance following two earthquakes that struck Venezuela’s coast last month, killing more than 5,000 people.

The case continues to unfold against the backdrop of a broader thaw in relations between Washington and Caracas under Rodriguez’s leadership, even as Maduro’s legal team prepares to mount a defense built partly around questions of sovereign immunity and the legality of the operation that led to his capture.