Federal prosecutors and defense lawyers for ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are proposing a June 2027 trial date in their narco-terrorism and drug trafficking case. The proposed schedule, outlined in a court filing Tuesday, also includes deadlines for pre-trial motions and the turnover of classified evidence.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein is expected to set a trial schedule during a court conference scheduled for Wednesday. Ahead of this, both sides have suggested that Maduro's lawyers file a motion to dismiss the case based on sovereign immunity by September, with oral arguments in November. Other pre-trial motions from the defense would be due in January.
Prosecutors have reportedly turned over the majority of non-classified evidence and plan to provide most classified materials by November. Both the prosecution and defense have reserved the right to request trial delays, with prosecutors noting that the schedule could shift depending on issues arising from classified evidence.
Maduro and Flores, who have been held in a federal detention facility in Brooklyn, last appeared in court in March. At that time, defense lawyers attempted to have the case dismissed, arguing the Treasury Department had blocked the Venezuelan government from paying their legal fees. This motion was later withdrawn after the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control began allowing payments from Venezuela in April.
The charges stem from a January operation where the United States aimed to capture Maduro and Flores to face accusations of conspiring with drug cartels to facilitate the flow of thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S. During his arraignment in January, Maduro stated, "I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country."
In recent months, the U.S. has also engaged diplomatically with Venezuela, with the Trump administration restoring relations and loosening sanctions under acting President Delcy Rodríguez. However, President Donald Trump has publicly accused Maduro's regime of rigging elections, claims that White House documents later suggested the country lacked the ability to execute internationally. The federal case against Maduro does not involve election rigging allegations but centers on drug trafficking charges.