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Maduro, wife face US court hearing on trial schedule in drug case
Prosecutors and the defense have proposed a June 2027 trial start date, while Hellerstein is also expected to set deadlines for pretrial motions.
Venezuela’s ousted president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are due in a US court on Wednesday for a hearing on the schedule in their drug trafficking case, with a possible June 2027 trial start date on the table. The hearing is before US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan federal court.
Maduro and Flores were captured during a heavily guarded raid in Caracas on January 3, according to the case record, and were brought to New York where they were indicted. Prosecutors allege they used their leadership positions in Venezuela, an oil rich country, to facilitate cocaine shipments, and both defendants have pleaded not guilty.
In a court filing on Tuesday night, prosecutors from the Manhattan US Attorney’s office and Maduro’s defense lawyers proposed June 2027 for the trial to begin. Hellerstein ultimately will set the schedule, and both sides said they could seek adjustments.
The filing also lays out a timeline for initial motions, with both parties proposing that Maduro’s first round of legal motions to dismiss the case would be due on September 2, which they said would likely include an argument that he is immune from prosecution as head of a sovereign state.