Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, will stand trial on federal narcoterrorism and weapons charges beginning June 1, 2027, a Manhattan federal judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein set the trial date during a scheduling hearing in New York, establishing a firm timeline for what promises to be one of the most unprecedented international legal battles in U.S. history.
Appearing in court wearing beige prison clothing, Maduro, 63, sat alongside Flores, 69, as attorneys and prosecutors established the framework for pretrial proceedings. Both defendants have been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since their arrival in the United States following a dramatic military raid.
”I am innocent. I am a decent man. I am president of my country,” Maduro previously told the court during his initial arraignment, pleading not guilty to all charges.
Deadline has been set for September 2, for defense attorneys to file motions challenging the court’s jurisdiction and asserting head-of-state sovereign immunity.
Oral arguments will be held on November 17, in Manhattan federal court regarding Maduro’s sovereign immunity defense. Review and exchange of classified evidence under the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) will follow immediately, leading into early 2027.
The prosecution stems from a long-standing federal indictment alleging that Maduro led the Cartel of the Suns, a drug trafficking enterprise embedded within the highest levels of Venezuela’s government and military. Federal prosecutors charge that Maduro conspired with foreign cartels, including the Sinaloa cartel and the FARC, to traffic thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States over a 25-year period.
The couple was apprehended on January 3, 2026, during Operation Absolute Resolve, a swift, two-and-a-half-hour U.S. military strike in Caracas ordered by President Donald Trump. U.S. Special Forces extracted Maduro and Flores from their presidential compound and transferred them via naval vessel to New York to face trial.
Defense attorney Barry Pollack confirmed that the defense team intends to vigorously challenge the prosecution, citing head-of-state immunity and questioning the legality of the military operation that brought Maduro to American soil.
If convicted on all counts, both Maduro and Flores face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
