Maduro, Wife Seek Dismissal Of US Drug Trafficking Case Before June Trial, Claim Sovereign Immunity

Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have moved a US court to dismiss the drug trafficking indictment against them, claiming they are protected by sovereign immunity.

Their lawyers filed separate motions in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, arguing that US courts cannot prosecute a foreign leader and first lady on such charges.

Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, are scheduled to face trial on June 1 next year. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein has set November 17 for oral arguments on their requests to dismiss the indictment. Both have pleaded not guilty.

According to Maduro’s lawyers, the judge is legally required to reject the indictment because it concerns a foreign leader. “No American court has ever presided over the criminal

trial of a foreign leader who was recognised by their own country as the sitting head of state at the time the charges were brought,” the lawyers wrote. “That is not an accident of history. It reflects a rule older than the common law: heads of state are exempt from the criminal process of any national court but their own.”

Flores’ lawyers made a similar argument in separate filings, maintaining that she is also protected from prosecution in the US under sovereign immunity. “It is an attribute of Venezuela’s sovereignty, and only Venezuela may surrender it,” her lawyers wrote.

Maduro’s legal team further argued that even if he cannot claim immunity as a head of state, he should still be protected by conduct-based sovereign immunity.

The lawyers also maintained that Maduro “vehemently denies the allegations against him”. They added, “If this case were to proceed to trial, it would be apparent that he has been falsely accused.”

Maduro, Wife Held In Brooklyn Jail Since January

Maduro and Flores have remained in a Brooklyn jail since early January, following a US operation in which they were seized from their home in Caracas during a middle-of-the-night raid and brought to New York.

The case dates back six years, when prosecutors charged several alleged co-conspirators. US prosecutors allege that Maduro was involved in a conspiracy to send cocaine into the United States. A conviction for Maduro and Flores on the conspiracy charge could result in life prison sentences.

Maduro’s Trial Hinges On Outcome Of Immunity Plea

Federal prosecutors are expected to respond to the immunity arguments later this month. President Donald Trump’s administration has defended the operation as a “surgical law enforcement operation”, while Maduro has called himself a prisoner of war and described his capture as a kidnapping.

US prosecutors have also alleged that Maduro worked with Venezuelan law enforcement to assist drug kingpins in moving thousands of tonnes of cocaine into the US.

The court will now consider the immunity arguments and determine whether the indictment should be dismissed before the case proceeds towards the trial scheduled for next June.

(With inputs from PTI)