A federal judge in New York has formally scheduled a June 1, 2027, jury trial for former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who face sweeping U.S. drug trafficking charges stemming from allegations they exploited their state leadership positions to move large quantities of cocaine into the United States. The scheduling decision came out of a 20-minute hearing Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, overseen by veteran U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, marking one of the most high-profile and politically charged criminal cases against a foreign head of state in modern U.S. history.
The case stems from a nighttime January 3 military raid on Maduro and Flores’ heavily secured Caracas residence, carried out by U.S. special operations commandos on orders from then-U.S. President Donald Trump. The pair, aged 63 and 69 respectively, were transferred immediately to New York to face a previously unsealed indictment that accuses them of abusing their authority in oil-rich Venezuela to coordinate large-scale cocaine trafficking operations. During Wednesday’s hearing, the couple appeared in the courtroom dressed in standard beige correctional facility attire.
Both Maduro and Flores have entered not guilty pleas to all charges brought against them. Maduro faces four felony counts, including charges of narcoterrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy, charges that carry a potential mandatory life sentence if he is convicted.
Lead defense counsel Barry Pollack confirmed to the court Wednesday that his legal team will move to have the entire case dismissed before trial, arguing that Maduro holds sovereign immunity from prosecution as a sitting head of state at the time of his capture, a position long held by his legal team. Judge Hellerstein set a September 2 deadline for Maduro’s legal team to file the first round of dismissal motions, with an oral argument hearing on the motions scheduled for November 17. Notably, both federal prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office and Maduro’s defense team had jointly proposed a June 2027 trial start date in a joint court filing submitted Tuesday night, a timeline both sides described as realistic.
“All parties agree that this schedule is workable and realistic. We do not anticipate delays, but of course we will keep the court informed if any unforeseen issues arise,” Pollack told the judge during Wednesday’s proceeding.
Maduro, a socialist leader who held Venezuela’s presidency from 2013 until his capture and maintained a long history of tense, antagonistic relations with successive U.S. administrations, previously labeled himself a “prisoner of war” during his initial court appearance on January 5. As U.S. marshals led Maduro out of the courtroom following Wednesday’s hearing, he was observed waving toward an unidentified person seated in the public gallery.