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Maduro seeks US dismissal of drug charges on head-of-state immunity
The request is aimed at a case tied to a January 3 US raid in Caracas, and a trial date of June 1, 2027 remains set if the bid fails.
Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro asked a US judge to dismiss criminal drug trafficking charges against him, arguing he is immune from prosecution because he was the head of a sovereign country, according to Reuters. The charges were filed in Manhattan federal court and, Reuters says, they have been linked to the US military raid on Caracas and Maduro’s capture on January 3. Maduro has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial on June 1, 2027 if his bid to dismiss the case is unsuccessful. Maduro is being held in a Brooklyn federal jail following the seizure, and his lawyer, Barry Pollack, urged the court to end the case on jurisdictional grounds. Pollack argued that sitting heads of state have complete immunity and that the acts Maduro is accused of would have been part of his official duties.
The motion was filed in response to a deadline set by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, and the judge’s handling is expected to test whether US courts apply the international law principle of head-of-state immunity in criminal cases, Reuters reported.