Venezuela’s Maduro asserts immunity and urges U.S. judge to dismiss charges

Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro under escort, as he heads toward a courthouse in New York on Jan. 5 | REUTERS

Sep 3, 2026

NEW YORK – Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged a U.S. judge on Wednesday to dismiss criminal drug trafficking charges against him, arguing he should be immune from prosecution as the head of a sovereign country.

The charges, filed in Manhattan federal court, formed the basis for the U.S. military’s raid on Caracas and capture of Maduro on Jan. 3. The Venezuelan leader, who has been held in a Brooklyn federal jail since his seizure, has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial on June 1, 2027, if his effort to dismiss the case is unsuccessful.

The principle that sitting heads of state are immune from prosecution abroad is a longstanding tenet of international law seen as fundamental to diplomacy. Maduro’s push to persuade Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to dismiss the case will test U.S. courts’ general reluctance to apply international law in criminal cases.

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