Nicolás Maduro’s US Drug Trafficking Trial Set for June 1/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are scheduled to stand trial June 1 on U.S. drug trafficking charges. Both have pleaded not guilty and could face life in prison if convicted of conspiring to transport cocaine into the United States. Maduro’s attorneys plan to challenge the indictment on sovereign immunity grounds and dispute the legality of his capture by U.S. forces.
Quick Look
- Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein set the trial for June 1.
- Maduro and Flores have pleaded not guilty.
- Prosecutors allege that they participated in a conspiracy to send cocaine into the United States.
- Both could receive life sentences if convicted.
- Defense motions challenging the indictment will begin in early September.
- Oral arguments on those requests are scheduled for Nov. 17.
- Maduro’s lawyers will first argue that he is protected by sovereign immunity.
- The defense also objects to the U.S. military operation that captured the couple.
- Maduro and Flores have been held in a Brooklyn jail since January.
- Neither has requested release on bail.
Deep Look
Maduro and Flores Receive June Trial Date
NEW YORK — Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are scheduled to stand trial June 1 on federal drug trafficking charges.
U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein selected the date Wednesday at the joint request of prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Maduro and Flores have pleaded not guilty. The charges remain allegations, and prosecutors must prove them beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
Defense Will Challenge Indictment
Under the schedule approved by the judge, defense attorneys will begin filing motions in early September seeking to dismiss or otherwise challenge the indictment.
The couple is due back in court Nov. 17 for oral arguments concerning those motions.
Maduro’s attorney, Barry Pollack, said the defense will initially challenge the case on sovereign immunity grounds. If that argument succeeds, Maduro would not need to continue defending himself against the remaining allegations.https://www.newslooks.com/house-republicans-push-95-billion-package-for-iran-war-and-trump-priorities/
Pollack and the other defense lawyers say the case presents complicated legal questions that must be resolved before a trial can begin.
Couple Has Been Detained Since January
Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, have been held at a federal jail in Brooklyn since January.
U.S. forces seized the couple from their home in Caracas during an overnight military raid and transported them to New York.
The Trump administration described the operation as a “surgical law enforcement operation” connected to a criminal case originally filed six years earlier.
Maduro has called himself a prisoner of war and described his capture as a kidnapping. His lawyers contend that the military operation was unlawful.
Pollack has said he intends to challenge what he called Maduro’s “military abduction.”
Maduro and Flores Remain Silent During Hearing
Neither defendant spoke during the 15-minute hearing Wednesday. They sat separately at defense tables, surrounded by their respective attorneys.
Maduro appeared in a tan jail uniform and listened to a Spanish interpretation through headphones. He took occasional notes and waved toward someone in the courtroom gallery as deputy U.S. marshals escorted him out.
Flores also remained silent throughout the proceeding.
The couple has not asked to be released on bail.
Prosecutors Allege Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy
Federal prosecutors accuse Maduro of participating in a conspiracy to transport thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States.
They allege that he collaborated with members of Venezuelan law enforcement to help major drug traffickers.
A jury will ultimately determine whether prosecutors have presented sufficient evidence to prove those claims. Maduro and Flores could face life in federal prison if convicted.
Maduro Maintains His Innocence
Maduro strongly denied the allegations during his January arraignment.
“I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country,” he said in Spanish.
The defense’s sovereign immunity claim and its challenge to the circumstances of Maduro’s capture are expected to become major preliminary issues in the case before the scheduled June trial.
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