Maduro and Wife Ask US Judge to Dismiss Drug-Trafficking Indictment, Citing Head-of-State Immunity
Rights & JusticeWell-coveredThe Facts
- Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores asked a Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday to dismiss the drug-trafficking indictment against them.
- Their filing argues the court lacks jurisdiction because Venezuela recognizes Maduro as its head of state.
- Defense lawyer Barry Pollack filed an alternative motion seeking dismissal of only the narcoterrorism conspiracy count.
- Maduro and Flores have pleaded not guilty to the federal drug and firearms charges.
- US forces seized the couple in Caracas on January 3 and brought them to New York.
- The pair have been held in a Brooklyn federal jail since their capture.
- Their trial is scheduled to begin June 1, 2027 if the dismissal bid fails.
- President Donald Trump said the couple could face an additional charge over allegedly sending prisoners from Venezuelan jails to the United States.
Context
What is the immunity argument, and why do observers doubt it will succeed?
The defense invokes the long-standing principle of international law that sitting heads of state are immune from criminal prosecution abroad, and argues Maduro's alleged conduct fell within his official duties Коммерсант.…,IndexHR,Jutarnji list. Analysts note US courts have been reluctant to apply international law in criminal cases, and that Washington has not recognized Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate president since 2019, which weakens the claim under US precedent Terra,Net.hr. Coverage has drawn comparisons to the earlier US prosecution of Panama's Manuel Noriega El Tiempo.
What are the charges and what happens next in the case?
Maduro, 63, faces four counts including narcoterrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation and possession of automatic weapons SAPO,Estadão,O TEMPO. Prosecutors have until October 2 to respond to the dismissal motions CNN Español,BioBioChile. Reports differ on the hearing date: CNN Español says the judge set oral argument for November 17 CNN Español, while Dawn reports a hearing on the dismissal arguments scheduled for November 7 Dawn.
How left and right read it
No court should be asked to launder a military seizure into a lawful prosecution. Yet the only reason this indictment sits in Manhattan is that US forces took Maduro and Flores out of Caracas on January 3 and brought them to a Brooklyn jail — and Trump is already floating an additional charge on top. That precedent is the danger. Dismiss it, and send them back.
American forces exist to defend this country, not to deliver foreign heads of state to a Brooklyn jail. The indictment's own theory is that Maduro used his office to conspire with cartels, which makes this a question of statecraft rather than ordinary crime — yet it was settled by force in Caracas on January 3, and the president is already floating another count on top. Drop the case.
“Maduro used his position -- first as a deputy in Venezuela's National Assembly and then as the country's president -- to conspire with narco-terrorists from some of the world's largest cartels to import cocaine into the United States.” — Fox News
The receipts — all 100 sources
Wire services (2)
Independent coverage (50)
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