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Maduro seeks dismissal
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro asked a U.S. judge to dismiss criminal drug trafficking charges filed in Manhattan federal court, arguing he should have judicial immunity as the head of a sovereign country.
“asked a United States judge to dismiss the criminal drug trafficking charges against him”
Maduro’s defense said the charges formed the basis for the January 3 operation in which American armed forces invaded Caracas and captured Maduro, and he pleaded not guilty while seeking dismissal before trial.
His lawyer, Barry Pollack, told the court that “This unprecedented process violates the absolute immunity to criminal jurisdiction to which heads of state and foreign officials in the exercise of their official duties have rights for hundreds of years,” as the case is set to be tried starting June 1, 2027 if the dismissal attempt fails.
Reuters reported that prosecutors have until October 2 to respond to Maduro’s request to dismiss, and that Judge Alvin Hellerstein will hold a hearing on the dismissal attempt on November 17.
Legal experts told Reuters that Maduro faces an uphill battle because Washington has not recognized Maduro as Venezuela’s president since 2019, and courts tend to defer to the U.S. president and his cabinet in disputes over recognition.
Jurisdiction fight
Maduro’s motion to dismiss was filed in Manhattan federal court, and Reuters said Hellerstein had given Pollack a deadline of Wednesday to file the motion.
Pollack argued that Hellerstein lacked jurisdiction because sovereign heads of state enjoy complete immunity and because the acts Maduro is accused of would have been part of his official duties, writing, “This unprecedented prosecution violates the absolute immunity from criminal jurisdiction to which heads of state and foreign officials acting in their official capacities have been entitled for hundreds of years,”.
Reuters also quoted Chimène Keitner, a law professor at the University of California, Davis, saying that in rare prior cases “the courts have essentially taken the executive branch's decision to bring charges as itself a determination of non-immunity,”.
The Washington Post reported that Maduro’s attorneys accused the Trump administration of launching an illegal U.S. military operation in January to seize Maduro and bring him to New York to face narco-terrorism charges in violation of international law that shields heads of state from prosecution in foreign courts.
In the same reporting, the Post quoted Pollack’s filing saying, “This unprecedented prosecution is in flagrant violation of common law principles,” as the defense sought dismissal before Maduro’s trial scheduled for next year.
What’s at stake
The defense’s immunity push is tied to how U.S. courts treat international law and treaty arguments in criminal cases, with Reuters describing a long pattern of U.S. judges rejecting dismissal arguments based on alleged international-law or treaty violations.
“Hellerstein's decision would hinge on whether Maduro was indeed head of state”
Reuters said Hellerstein’s decision would hinge on whether Maduro was indeed head of state, and that U.S. courts tend to defer to the president and his cabinet in disputes over who is recognized as a foreign country’s leader.
The Reuters reporting also noted that the U.S. stopped recognizing Maduro as Venezuela’s president in 2019 after a 2018 election the U.S. said was rigged, and that the U.S. also called his 2024 reelection fraudulent.
Bloomberg Law News reported that Maduro’s legal team argued in a court filing that “This court lacks jurisdiction with respect to Mr. Maduro, who is recognized by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as its head of state,”.
Bloomberg Law News further stated that if convicted he could spend the rest of his life in prison, while it also said Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, is also charged and both have pleaded not guilty and are being held without bail in a federal lockup in Brooklyn, New York.