Maduro asks US court to dismiss case, citing immunity
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has asked a federal court in Manhattan to dismiss the criminal case on drug trafficking charges. His defense argues that Maduro has immunity from criminal prosecution in the United States as the head of a sovereign state. This was reported by Al Jazeera English.
Defense arguments
Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, filed the motion with US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein. The defense stated that the court lacks jurisdiction in the case because heads of sovereign states have full immunity, and the acts of which Maduro is accused could have been part of his official duties.
Pollack wrote that the prosecution violates the absolute immunity from criminal jurisdiction that heads of state and foreign officials acting in an official capacity have enjoyed for centuries. According to him, Maduro was falsely accused, and the former president himself categorically denies the charges brought against him.
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Timeline of the case
According to Al Jazeera, Maduro was kidnapped and imprisoned on January 3 after US President Donald Trump authorized a military raid in Caracas. He is currently being held in a federal prison in Brooklyn. Maduro has pleaded not guilty; if the motion to dismiss the case is not granted, the trial is set to begin on June 1, 2027.
The United States has not recognized Maduro as Venezuela’s president since 2019 because of disputed elections. Washington also called his re-election in 2024 fraudulent. In the motion, Pollack stated that the assessment of Maduro’s legitimacy is irrelevant to the issue of immunity because, according to him, the US executive branch does not dispute that he was the head of the Venezuelan state.
After Maduro’s kidnapping, his former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, has led Venezuela as interim leader. Pollack also called it contradictory that the United States recognizes Rodríguez, who was appointed by Maduro, while simultaneously not recognizing Maduro himself. Prosecutors must respond to the motion by October 2, and a hearing on it is scheduled for November 17.
