A US court has set the start of the trial of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, for 1 June 2027. The couple, who deny charges of drug trafficking and firearms-related offences, appeared in court in New York for the third time on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Maduro’s supporters protested outside the building, demanding his immediate release.
The trial date was announced by Judge Alvin Hellerstein during a hearing lasting approximately fifteen minutes. According to the Xinhua news agency, both the prosecution and the defence agreed to the proposed date. Maduro and Flores remain in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York.
Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, stated that he would first attempt to challenge the indictment itself. He intends to argue primarily on the grounds of the immunity of the head of a sovereign state. According to the defence, should the court uphold his objection, the criminal proceedings might not proceed at all.
At the first court hearing on 5 January, the Venezuelan president pleaded not guilty to all charges. His wife also maintained the same position. The US authorities accuse them, amongst other things, of involvement in drug trafficking into the United States and of weapons-related offences.
Maduro and Flores were detained by US forces on 3 January during a large-scale military operation in Venezuela and subsequently transferred to New York. The operation provoked strong reactions from parts of the international community and raised questions regarding state sovereignty, the immunity of heads of state, and the compatibility of the US’s actions with international law.
On Wednesday, demonstrators gathered outside a heavily guarded courthouse in Manhattan, denouncing Maduro’s detention as unlawful. The protesters also spoke out against US military interventions abroad.
American activist Allison Gunderson told Xinhua that, in her view, the United States was prosecuting the president of a sovereign country after having illegally abducted him. Tom Burke of the Anti-War Action Network described the detention and the planned trial as a violation of international law and pledged to continue the protests.
Political writer Sara Flounders pointed out that Wednesday’s demonstration took place 200 days after Maduro’s detention. In her speech, she also linked his case to criticism of other US operations in Venezuela, Iran and Cuba.
The trial of the Venezuelan president could be one of the most closely watched court cases in recent years. In addition to the charges themselves, attention will also focus on the question of whether US courts can prosecute a sitting foreign president and whether the manner of his detention complied with international law.
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