Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are seen in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavily armed Federal agents as they make their way into an armored car en route to a Federal courthouse in Manhattan on January 5, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by XNY\/Star Max\/GC Images)<\/p>\n
(NEW YORK) \u2014 Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are set to return to a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday for a status conference that could determine the trajectory of the criminal case against them.<\/p>\n
Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to federal charges including narco-terrorism during their first appearance in court in January, and their attorneys have since pushed to have the case dismissed over concerns that the Trump administration is blocking the Venezuelan government from paying their legal fees.<\/p>\n
For more than a decade, Maduro enjoyed an opulent life as Venezuela\u2019s president, living in the neoclassical palace in Caracas and accruing a net worth reportedly in the millions. He allegedly owned multiple mansions, two private jets, millions in jewelry and cash, a horse farm, and a fleet of luxury vehicles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But as he awaits trial in a Brooklyn jail cell, the ousted head of state is now pushing to have his case dismissed by arguing he doesn\u2019t have enough money to pay for his own legal defense \u2014 and his lawyers argue his due process rights will be violated if Venezuela is unable to pay for his lawyers because of U.S. sanctions on the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand that the government of Venezuela is prepared to fund my legal defense and it is my expectation that it will,\u201d Maduro said in a sworn declaration. \u201cI have relied on this expectation and cannot afford to pay for my own legal defense.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the Trump administration gradually warms relations with Venezuela, Thursday\u2019s hearing marks the second time that the ousted Venezuelan leader has appeared in a United States courtroom since special operations forces captured him in Caracas in January.<\/p>\n
During the status conference on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein is expected to hear from both sides about how the case will progress toward a trial, including what pre-trial motions the defense plans to make and how much evidence has been turned over by prosecutors.<\/p>\n
In a move that triggered an international outcry, Maduro was captured and brought to the U.S. in January after the United States carried out what President Trump described as a \u201clarge scale strike\u201d in the Venezuelan capital.<\/p>\n
Maduro\u2019s attorneys seek dismissal<\/p>\n
Last month, attorneys for Maduro and Flores asked the court to dismiss the indictment after the Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OLFAC) restricted the ability for Venezuela to pay for their legal fees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Defense lawyers argue that the couple\u2019s Sixth Amendment and due process rights would be violated if Venezuela is unable to financially support Maduro, who Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodriguez says is still \u201cthe legitimate president\u201d of the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe conduct of the United States government not only undermines Mr. Maduro\u2019s rights but also this Court\u2019s mandate to provide a fair trial to all defendants who come before it in accordance with the protections afforded by the U.S. Constitution,\u201d Maduro\u2019s attorney Barry Pollack said in a motion last month.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of New York have pushed back on the request, arguing that Maduro and Flores are still allowed to access their own money to pay for their legal defense. While the Treasury Department initially allowed Venezuela to pay for their legal defense, prosecutors said the authorization was an \u201cadministrative error\u201d and denied that the decision to change the terms of their license was targeted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOFAC\u2019s Longstanding sanctions regime predated the initiation of the criminal charges the defendants now face and was instituted for purposes completely separate from the criminal charges currently pending before this Court,\u201d defense lawyers said. \u201cThe defendants\u2019 attempts to portray OFAC\u2019s sanctions as a targeted attack on the defendants and their rights are misleading and undermined by the facts and chronology of this case and OFAC\u2019s independent decision-making.\u201d<\/p>\n
Defense attorneys expressed skepticism about that argument by highlighting that the Trump administration has recently issued multiple licenses to allow the export of Venezuelan oil and other goods despite the existing sanctions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no apparent reason why the use of Venezuelan funds to pay for the legal defense in this case jeopardizes national security and the government offers none,\u201d defense attorneys said. \u201cThe national security emergency rationale that the government invokes, without explaining, has even less force now that the government has normalized relations with the government of Venezuela and recognized the current Venezuelan government.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the issue is fully briefed, the judge could opt to set a separate hearing on the motion.<\/p>\n
\u2018I am innocent,\u201d Maduro told the court<\/p>\n
Maduro\u2019s last appearance in federal court came just days after he was captured in Venezuela by U.S. special operations forces and transported to New York to face criminal charges.<\/p>\n
After Judge Hellerstein summarized the charges against him, Maduro told the court through an interpreter that he is \u201cthe president of Venezuela\u201d and that he was \u201ccaptured at home in Caracas, Venezuela.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still president of my country,\u201d Maduro said to enter his plea.<\/p>\n
Flores similarly pleaded not guilty after being informed of the charges against her and her rights. Their attorneys did not ask for bail or their release, though Judge Hellerstein said he would be open to reviewing a bail application in the future. In the meantime, the former heads of state have been detained at the federal detention center in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
As he was escorted out of the courtroom, Maduro responded to a member of the public seated in court who shouted at him in Spanish to say in part, \u201cYou will pay in the name of Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am the elected president. I am a prisoner of war. I will be free,\u201d Maduro responded.<\/p>\n
Maduro\u2019s defense?<\/p>\n
During his arraignment in January, Maduro\u2019s attorney signaled that they will likely argue that Maduro should be protected from prosecution as a head of state.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is the head of a sovereign state,\u201d said Pollack, added that there are \u201cissues about the legality of his military abduction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maduro\u2019s lawyers have not yet filed any motions based on that argument, instead focusing on concerns about his due process rights after the Treasury Department cut off Venezuela\u2019 s ability to pay for Maduro\u2019s legal defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to ABC News Legal Contributor James Sample, Maduro\u2019s lawyers could attempt to argue that he is protected by \u201chead of state immunity,\u201d which is a principle of international law that the leaders of other countries are shielded from the jurisdiction of other country\u2019s criminal courts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will be arguing that because he was the head of essentially a sister sovereign of another nation, and he was doing those things in that nation, that the United States courts lack the jurisdiction, which is simply to say the power to hold him criminally accountable,\u201d Sample said. \u201cWhether a U.S. court will embrace that defense or not is a different matter, but it is not a frivolous argument.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega, who was never elected president, unsuccessfully attempted to use head-of-state immunity when he was tried in the U.S. on drug smuggling charges in 1991, but a federal appeals court concluding he \u201cnever served as the constitutional leader of Panama.\u201d<\/p>\n
What prosecutors allege<\/p>\n
The Department of Justice initially brought an indictment against Maduro and 14 other Venezuelan officials in March of 2020, arguing they committed narco-terrorism by conspiring with drug cartels to allow the flow of cocaine into the United States.<\/p>\n
Nearly six years later, prosecutors filed a new indictment charging Maduro, Flores, Maduro\u2019s son, and three others with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons offenses.<\/p>\n
\u201cNicolas Maduro Moros, the defendant, now sits atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking,\u201d the indictment said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prosecutors alleged that Maduro allowed \u201ccocaine-fueled corruption to flourish for his own benefit,\u201d including by providing diplomatic cover to drug traffickers and money launderers. Maduro has pleaded not guilty and denies being involved in drug trafficking. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c[Maduro] is at the forefront of that corruption and has partnered with his co-conspirators to use his illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States,\u201d the indictment said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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