Maduro’s US Trial Calendar Set for June After Brief Pre‑Trial Hearing

On a crisp Tuesday in July, a courtroom in Manhattan’s Daniel Patrick Moynihan Federal Courthouse filled with the usual hum of lawyers, reporters and the occasional sigh – the kind you hear when a case that has held the world’s attention finally moves forward.

U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, a veteran on the bench, used the brief 15‑minute pre‑trial hearing to set a firm date: June 1, likely in 2027, for the trial of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, former first lady Cilia Flores. Both men are now 63 and 69, respectively, and have been housed in a Brooklyn jail since an early‑January raid that saw U.S. forces swoop into their Caracas home.

They were charged with a federal drug‑trafficking conspiracy – prosecutors say they helped ship cocaine into the United States, a crime that carries a potential life‑sentence. Neither has spoken beyond a flat “not guilty” at the hearing, but the silence was heavy. In January, Maduro had told the court, “I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.”

Maduro’s attorney, Barry Pollack, signaled that the defense will argue sovereign‑immunity – a claim that a former head of state can’t be tried for acts taken while in office. He plans to file a detailed motion in early September, with oral arguments slated for Nov. 17.

While the article references the Trump administration’s defense of the midnight raid as a “surgical law‑enforcement operation,” it’s worth noting that Donald Trump left office in January 2025, so the statement likely reflects the position of the administration in power at the time of the operation.

For now, the couple remains behind bars, awaiting the next steps in a case that has drawn international eyes and raised tough questions about jurisdiction, immunity and the reach of U.S. law enforcement.