ADVERTISEMENT
Venezuela’s ousted president Nicolas Maduro is scheduled to appear before a New York federal court on Wednesday for his third public hearing since U.S. forces detained him during a nighttime raid in January.
ADVERTISEMENT
In a joint court filing submitted Tuesday, prosecutors and defense attorneys proposed a trial date of June 2027, which Judge Alvin Hellerstein may confirm during Wednesday’s procedural session.
Outside the courthouse, demonstrators gathered holding signs expressing support for Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Both have remained in a Brooklyn detention facility since the U.S. military operation, awaiting trial on charges including drug trafficking and firearms offenses. They have pleaded not guilty and face potential life sentences if convicted of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States.
“I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country,” Maduro declared during his arraignment in January.
The Trump administration characterized the raid as a “surgical law enforcement operation” stemming from a criminal case initiated six years ago. Maduro, however, has denounced his capture as a kidnapping and labeled himself a “prisoner of war.”
Prosecutors allege that Maduro conspired to traffic thousands of tonnes of cocaine into the United States by coordinating with Venezuelan law enforcement to facilitate drug kingpins’ operations.
Maduro’s attorney, Barry Pollack, has indicated he will challenge the legality of what he terms his client’s “military abduction.” The defense has also noted complex legal issues that must be resolved before trial proceedings can commence.
Neither Maduro nor Flores has sought release on bail.
