Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein, 91, in charge of the case of the deposed president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, preliminarily established that the trial will begin on June 1, 2027after rejecting two motions in which the defense requested the immunity of the accused.
Maduro entered the room dressed in a short-sleeved khaki suit, along with Flores, for the follow-up hearing of his criminal process in the United States. He greeted before entering and followed the view along with his lawyers, with his characteristic mustache and noticeably thin, although he walked normally.
After 18 minutes in the New York federal courtconcluded the third pre-trial hearing. Maduro spoke with his defense before leaving.
Before the hearing, the Prosecutor’s Office and the defense jointly presented a brief in which they proposed a calendar to the judge. with two rounds of previous motions to the trial and set the beginning of the process for June 2027, a schedule that the judge accepted.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York proposed that the trial begin in June 2027, according to a court filing.
The defense plans to present a first set of motions before the delivery of evidence is completed, including a immunity argument for Maduro as head of state of Venezuela at the time of his arrest.
Barry Pollack, one of Maduro’s lawyers, stated that, if accepted, the president would not have to undergo the second round of motions, which will include other evidence.
The Prosecutor’s Office, for its part, foresees complete most of the delivery of ungraded tests by September 22 and those classified on November 15.
Maduro and Flores face charges of conspiring to commit narcoterrorism and importation of cocaine after the US operation at his residence in Caracas on January 3.
The deposed president pleaded not guilty on January 5 before the New York justice system and has been imprisoned for more than half a year in a federal prison in Brooklyn.
Then, Maduro assured in Spanish that he was a “decent man” and the “constitutional president” of Venezuela.
According to The New York Timesthe courts of The United States may “not have the authority to handle the case” due to a law ratified by the country.
In the second appearance, in March, Maduro appeared with grayer hair and a slight limp.
In April, the United States agreed to modify sanctions against Venezuela to allow his Executive to pay the fees of the lawyers defending Maduro and his wife.
Both could facer life sentences if they are found guilty.
The legal advisor of the State Department, Reed Rubinstein, asked Deputy Attorney General Bret Shumate to guarantee the judicial immunity of the president in charge of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, in the civil lawsuit opened against her in Florida.
Rodríguez faces a lawsuit before a Florida court, in Miami, for alleged kidnappings, torture and terrorist acts attributed to Chavismo.
On July 15, after the letter sent by the State Department, a judge ordered compensation of US$314 million In this case, although Rodríguez was excluded from the ruling, it does affect Maduro and other Chavista officials.
«President Rodríguez, as acting head of state of a foreign state, enjoys immunity while in office “faces the jurisdiction of the United States District Court in this case,” considers the Trump Administration.
Since Maduro’s capture, the government of Trump has strengthened relations with the interim government of Rodríguez, who was vice president, while opposition leader María Corina Machado insists on her intention to return to Venezuela.