Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores Seek Dismissal of US Drug Charges on Immunity Grounds

Captured Venezuelan president asks US court to dismiss drug charges Nicolas Maduro claims sovereign immunity from federal narco-terrorism prosecution Muhammed Yasin Güngör 03 September 2026•Update: 03 September 2026 İSTANBUL Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, captured by the US in January, petitioned a New York federal judge Wednesday to dismiss drug-trafficking and narco-terrorism charges against him, Bloomberg reported. "This court lacks jurisdiction with respect to Mr. Maduro, who is recognized by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as its head of state," Maduro’s legal team wrote in a court filing. The 63-year-old Venezuelan leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, are currently being held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. They were brought to the US in January following a US military operation in Caracas that captured them. Both have pleaded not guilty to allegations of collaborating with cartels to smuggle cocaine. "I am a decent man. I am still president of my country," Maduro declared during his arraignment. A US judge scheduled their trial to begin June 1, 2027. Whether the court will accept the defense's argument regarding sovereign immunity remains unknown. If convicted, the Venezuelan leader could face life in prison.

Nicolás Maduro's legal team submitted two motions on Wednesday to a federal court in Manhattan, seeking dismissal of the criminal charges he faces in the United States. They are invoking the principle of sovereign immunity and questioning the court's jurisdiction over his case. According to EFE's report, attorney Barry Pollack filed an initial motion to dismiss the entire indictment, arguing that Maduro is entitled to immunity as the leader of a sovereign nation. A secondary motion focuses specifically on dismissing the charge of conspiracy involving narcoterrorism. "The Court would lack jurisdiction over Mr. Maduro if he is entitled to either head-of-state immunity or conduct-based sovereign immunity. He is entitled to both," Pollack asserted in the court document. In the second motion, the defense argued that the narcoterrorism charge "seeks to indict a foreign national" for "entirely foreign conduct without adequately alleging the jurisdictional element" and that it "exceeds Congress's authority to regulate." Additionally, Pollack requested that the case be dismissed "with prejudice," a legal term that would prevent the charges from being brought again in the future. Maduro is facing accusations of conspiracy to commit narcoterrorism, cocaine importation, and possession of automatic weapons, all carrying potential life sentences. He was captured in Caracas on January 3, 2026, during the U.S. military operation "Absolute Resolution" and is currently held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn alongside his wife, Cilia Flores. Since his initial appearance before Judge Alvin Hellerstein, Maduro has pleaded not guilty and described himself as a "prisoner of war." Maduro's defense strategy to avoid trial faces significant legal challenges. Washington ceased recognizing Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate president in 2019, substantially weakening his claim to immunity. Historical precedent also works against him. In 1990, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the immunity claim of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega—captured by U.S. forces in 1989—using similar reasoning: Washington never recognized him as a legitimate leader. While his legal battle continues, Maduro has maintained communication with the outside world from Brooklyn. Late last month, he shared photographs taken in June from inside the prison, showing him in gray sportswear making a victory sign, accompanied by the message, "I want you to know that we stand firm." The U.S. Department of Justice has until October 2 to respond to the motions to dismiss. Judge Hellerstein will hold a hearing on the dismissal attempt on November 17, and if the motions fail, the trial is scheduled to begin on June 1, 2027. Sovereign immunity is a legal doctrine that protects a sovereign state or its leader from being sued or prosecuted in foreign courts without consent. It is based on the principle that one sovereign cannot impose its laws on another. The U.S. ceased to recognize Nicolás Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela in 2019, which undermines his claim to sovereign immunity. Without recognition as head of state, his entitlement to immunity is significantly weakened. Maduro faces charges of conspiracy to engage in narcoterrorism, cocaine importation, and possession of automatic weapons. These charges carry potential life sentences.

The deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro urged this Wednesday the U.S. federal judge Alvin Hellerstein to dismiss the narcotics trafficking charges against him, arguing that he should enjoy immunity due to his status as head of state of a sovereign country. Washington has not recognized him as such since 2019, when it accused him of having been elected president in fraudulent elections. The charges, filed before a federal court in Manhattan, served the Trump Administration to justify the U.S. military incursion into Caracas and the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3. The Venezuelan leader, who remains detained in a federal prison in Brooklyn since then, has proclaimed his innocence. If his attempt to have his case dismissed fails, he will have to appear before the court starting on June 1, 2027. The principle of judicial immunity for acting heads of state is a fundamental pillar of international law, considered essential for diplomacy. Maduro’s attempt to persuade Judge Hellerstein, whose court is based in Manhattan, to dismiss the case will test the usual reluctance of U.S. courts to apply international law in criminal cases. Maduro’s attorney, Barry Pollack, defended that immunity before the judge, who on Wednesday reviewed a motion to dismiss the charges against Maduro. The attorney argued that Hellerstein lacks jurisdiction for two reasons. First, sovereign heads of state enjoy absolute immunity, and second, the acts for which Maduro is charged were part of his official functions. “This unprecedented prosecution violates the absolute immunity from criminal jurisdiction to which heads of state and foreign officials acting in the exercise of their official functions have had for hundreds of years,” Pollack wrote. The lawyer also noted in the motion that his client was falsely accused and that he “vehemently denies” the charges against him. Several legal experts forecast that Maduro will face a hard legal battle. Washington has not recognized Maduro as Venezuela’s president since 2019, so it is unlikely that the charges against him will be dismissed on account of his immunity as head of state. In the United States, courts tend to follow the decision of the U.S. president and his Cabinet in disputes over who is recognized as the leader of a foreign country. Criminal cases in the United States involving foreign heads of state are extremely rare, but the precedents are not encouraging for Maduro. In 1990, a federal judge in Miami rejected the former Panamanian military leader Manuel Noriega’s attempt to invoke head-of-state immunity, partly because he never officially held the title of president. The United States stopped recognizing Maduro in 2019, when he assumed the presidency after the 2018 elections, which Washington deemed fraudulent, as did the elections held in 2024. Maduro maintains that both votes were fair and has long accused the United States of seeking his overthrow to seize the South American country’s oil wealth. In the motion defended before the federal judge, Maduro’s lawyer wrote that Washington’s assessment that Maduro lacked legitimacy was not relevant. “Unlike the Noriega case, the Executive Branch does not question that Mr. Maduro was the head of state of Venezuela, but merely states that, after 2019, he did not hold that office legitimately,” he contended. Since Maduro’s capture, his vice president and ally Delcy Rodríguez has governed Venezuela as “chargé president,” while intensifying cooperation with the Trump Administration. Last August, the two countries reached an unprecedented agreement that will allow the United States to control about a fifth of Venezuela’s oil reserves. Pollack wrote that it was “inconsistent” for the United States to recognize Rodríguez, who was designated by Maduro, and not Maduro. He pointed to Rodríguez’s and her government officials’ statements in January and February, indicating that they still considered Maduro the legitimate head of state of Venezuela. Since then, Rodríguez’s government has remained silent on the matter. Some murals of Maduro in Caracas have been covered with paint in recent months. Prosecutors have until October 2 to respond to Maduro’s motion to dismiss the indictment, and Hellerstein will hold a hearing on the dismissal request on November 17.

The former Venezuelan president presented himself as a "war prisoner" and described his arrest as an "abduction". He calls for the dropping of all charges against him and his wife in the name of diplomatic immunity. The former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Wednesday asked a judge to dismiss the drug trafficking indictment they face on the grounds that they enjoy immunity as a foreign country's leader and first lady. In a brief filed with the Manhattan federal court, Maduro’s lawyers contend that the law requires the judge to reject the indictment, because it cannot target a foreign head of state. "No American court has ever conducted the criminal trial of a foreign leader who was recognized by his own country as the head of state in office at the time the charges were filed," the lawyers write. "This is no accident of history. It reflects an older rule than common law: heads of state are shielded from criminal prosecutions before any national court other than their own." "This is an attribute of Venezuela’s sovereignty." Nicolás Maduro and his wife are to be tried on drug trafficking charges starting from June 1 of next year. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein set the start of the arguments on the motions to dismiss the indictment for November 17. The former Venezuelan president, 63, and his wife, 69, have been held in a Brooklyn jail since U.S. forces arrested them at their Caracas home during a late-night raid in early January, before transferring them to New York. In another brief filed Wednesday, Cilia Flores’s lawyers argue that she also enjoys immunity from U.S. prosecution under sovereign immunity. "This is an attribute of Venezuela’s sovereignty, and only Venezuela can waive it," her lawyers write. Maduro’s lawyers argue that even if their client did not enjoy sovereign immunity as head of state, the proceeding against him should be dropped because he is also entitled to sovereign immunity based on his official acts. Drug-trafficking indictment to the United States Additionally, the lawyers contend that Nicolás Maduro "vehemently denies the charges against him" and claim that "if this case were to go to trial, it would clearly appear that he was falsely accused." Maduro and Flores both pleaded not guilty in a criminal case started six years ago against numerous alleged co-conspirators. They face life in prison if a jury finds they participated in a plot to bring cocaine into the United States. Federal prosecutors are to respond to the defense’s arguments later in the month. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump defended the raid that led to Maduro’s capture, describing it as a "surgical police operation." The former Venezuelan leader presented himself as a war prisoner and called his arrest an abduction. Prosecutors contend that Nicolás Maduro orchestrated a plot to bring thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States, in collusion with Venezuelan security forces to aid drug lords.

Ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and wife seek to end drug charges case on immunity grounds Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife asked a judge on Wednesday to dismiss the drug trafficking indictment against them on the grounds that they have immunity as the leader and first lady of a foreign country. In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, lawyers for Maduro said a judge was required by law to reject the indictment because it cannot be brought against a foreign leader. "No American court has ever presided over the criminal trial of a foreign leader who was recognized by their own country as the sitting head of state at the time the charges were brought," the lawyers wrote. "That is not an accident of history. It reflects a rule older than the common law: heads of state are exempt from the criminal process of any national court but their own." Maduro and his wife are scheduled to go on trial on drug trafficking charges next June 1. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein has set oral arguments for Nov. 17 on motions to dismiss the indictment. Maduro, 63, and his wife, Cilia Flores, 69, have been held at a Brooklyn jail since U.S. forces seized them from their Caracas home in a middle-of-the-night raid in early January and brought them to New York. In separate papers filed Wednesday, lawyers for Flores said she too has immunity from U.S. prosecution on sovereign immunity grounds. "It is an attribute of Venezuela's sovereignty, and only Venezuela may surrender it," her lawyers wrote. Maduro's lawyers said that even if Maduro were not entitled to sovereign immunity as the head of state, the case against him must be dismissed because he is also entitled to conduct-based sovereign immunity. Meanwhile, the lawyers argued, Maduro "vehemently denies the allegations against him." "If this case were to proceed to trial, it would be apparent that he has been falsely accused," they said. Both have pleaded not guilty in a criminal case first brought six years ago against numerous alleged co-conspirators. They face potential life prison sentences if a jury agrees that they were part of a conspiracy to send cocaine into the U.S. Federal prosecutors are scheduled to file a response to the arguments later this month. President Donald Trump's administration has defended the raid to capture Maduro as a "surgical law enforcement operation." Maduro has called himself a prisoner of war and his capture a kidnapping. U.S. prosecutors say Maduro carried out a conspiracy to move thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S. by colluding with Venezuelan law enforcement to help drug kingpins.

Venezuela's Maduro seek immunity from US drug charges New York (AFP) – Venezuela's ousted leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife asked a US judge late Wednesday to dismiss drug trafficking charges against them, claiming they have immunity as president and first lady of a sovereign country. Issued on: The pair have been held in a Brooklyn jail ever since US forces seized them in Caracas on January 3 in a stunning operation to depose the authoritarian Venezuelan leader. Maduro and Cilia Flores have both pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking and firearms charges. A hearing on their dismissal arguments is scheduled in New York for November 7, while their trial is set for June 2027. "No American court has ever presided over the criminal trial of a foreign leader who was recognized by their own country as the sitting head of state at the time the charges were brought," reads a court filing by Maduro's lawyer. "That is not an accident of history. It reflects a rule older than the common law: heads of state are exempt from the criminal process of any national court but their own," it adds. Maduro is further entitled to sovereign immunity as the US charges relate to his alleged conduct while he was serving as president of Venezuela, the filing says. US prosecutors claim that Maduro used state power to protect and promote illegal drug smuggling, and that he allied himself with cartels to ship tons of cocaine into the United States. Maduro has denied the four counts he faces: "narco-terrorism" conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices as well as conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. Flores has similarly pleaded not guilty to the three counts she faces: cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. On Sunday, Maduro said that he was "standing firm" in a social media post accompanied by two photos from jail of him wearing a gray tracksuit and making peace signs with his hands. Maduro has previously told a US court he was "kidnapped" and described himself as a "prisoner of war." Since his capture, vice president Delcy Rodriguez has governed Venezuela as interim leader under intense pressure from US President Donald Trump's administration. US energy firms this week signed a raft of multi-billion-dollar deals with Venezuela, days after the South American country agreed to grant the United States control of a huge chunk of its vast oil reserves. Critics in both the US and Venezuela accuse Trump of holding the country for ransom after ousting Maduro, and warn that Rodriguez could face a similar fate if she does not meet US demands. © 2026 AFP

The deposed Venezuelan president, pursued and incarcerated in the United States for drug trafficking, has asked for the indictment against him to be dismissed, arguing his immunity as a foreign head of state. The deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, pursued and incarcerated in the United States for drug trafficking, has asked the American justice system to dismiss the indictment against him, arguing his immunity as a foreign head of state. In a memorandum drafted by his lawyers and sent to New York federal judge Alvin Hellerstein, the former strongman of Caracas maintains that the court is “not competent” to prosecute him, no more than his wife, Cilia Flores. Under an indictment targeting him and several former aides, the ex-head of state is being prosecuted in New York on four counts, including narcoterrorism. Kidnapped in Caracas during a dramatic U.S. military operation early in January, he has been incarcerated since in a Brooklyn federal prison. Yet, as subscriptions do, they help support the work of our 250 journalists who commit to delivering daily high-quality, reliable, and comprehensive information. By accepting cookies, you will be able to access the free content and features offered by our site.

Democracy Dies in Darkness By Jeremy Roebuck Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Wednesday launched a Subscribe for unlimited access to The Post Save on unmatched reporting. Get your first year for £1 every four weeks What readers are saying The comments discuss the legal and ethical implications of the U.S. detaining Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, comparing it to the perceived immunity and legal treatment of Donald Trump. Commenters express skepticism about the fairness of prosecuting Maduro while questioning the... Show more This summary is AI-generated. AI can make mistakes and this summary is not a replacement for reading the comments. Comments 26 Related Articles David Ovalle and Lena H. Sun Democratic governors form state public health alliance to counter RFK Jr. October 15, 2025 Praveena Somasundaram and Lena H. Sun Illinois can set its own vaccine guidelines, bypassing Trump administration December 3, 2025 Lena H. Sun CDC staff ‘blindsided’ as child vaccine schedule unilaterally overhauled January 7, 2026 Jenna Portnoy Gov. Wes Moore bill would let Maryland bypass federal vaccine schedule January 8, 2026 Lena H. Sun and Lauren Weber RFK Jr. drives a wedge between red and blue states on vaccines September 4, 2025 AnalysisAmber Phillips What to know about Trump’s immunity deal with the IRS June 3, 2026 View 3 more storiesView 3 more stories 5.61.6 !pixel Already have an account? Sign in FALL SALE Two ways to read this article: Create an account Free Access this article SALE Subscribe £1every four weeks for the first year Unlimited access to all articles * 24/7 live news updates Subscribe