Key facts
- Nicolas Maduro is seeking to dismiss U.S. criminal drug trafficking charges against him.
- Maduro's defense is based on the principle of head-of-state immunity.
- The U.S. has not recognized Maduro as Venezuela's president since 2019.
- A trial is scheduled for June 1, 2027, if the dismissal effort fails.
- Prosecutors must respond to the motion by October 2, with a hearing set for November 17.
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has urged a U.S. judge to dismiss criminal drug trafficking charges against him, arguing that he should be immune from prosecution as the head of a sovereign country. The charges, filed in Manhattan federal court, were the basis for an operation in which the U.S. military captured Maduro. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial starting June 1, 2027, if his dismissal effort is unsuccessful.
The principle of head-of-state immunity is a longstanding tenet of international law, but Maduro faces an uphill battle as Washington has not recognized him as Venezuela's president since 2019. Courts tend to defer to the president and his cabinet in disputes over who is recognized as a foreign country's leader. U.S. criminal cases involving heads of foreign states are rare, but similar cases have not favored defendants asserting immunity, such as former Panamanian military leader Manuel Noriega, who was denied immunity in part because he never officially held the title of president.
The United States stopped recognizing Maduro in 2019 after a 2018 election that the U.S. deemed rigged, and also called his 2024 reelection fraudulent. Maduro maintains both votes were fair and accuses Washington of seeking his ouster to control Venezuela's oil wealth. Since Maduro's capture, his vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, has run Venezuela and increased cooperation with the Trump administration, leading to a deal where the U.S. would take over approximately one-fifth of Venezuela's oil reserves.
Prosecutors have until October 2 to respond to Maduro's motion to dismiss the indictment, and Judge Alvin Hellerstein will hold a hearing on the dismissal effort on November 17.