Maduro and wife seek dismissal of US drug charges on immunity grounds
Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores ask a US judge to dismiss drug trafficking charges, citing sovereign immunity.
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have asked a federal judge in Manhattan to dismiss the drug trafficking indictment against them, arguing that they are immune from prosecution as the former head of state and first lady of a foreign country.
In court papers filed on Wednesday, Maduro's lawyers contended that the law requires the judge to reject the indictment because it cannot be brought against a foreign leader. They noted that no American court has ever conducted the criminal trial of a foreign leader who was recognized by their own country as the sitting head of state at the time charges were brought. The lawyers described this as a reflection of an ancient rule that heads of state are exempt from the criminal process of any national court other than their own.
Flores, in a separate filing, also asserted sovereign immunity, stating that it is an attribute of Venezuela's sovereignty and only Venezuela may surrender it.
Maduro's legal team further argued that even if head-of-state immunity did not apply, he is entitled to conduct-based sovereign immunity. They also said Maduro "vehemently denies the allegations" and that if the case went to trial, it would become clear he was falsely accused.
Both Maduro and Flores have pleaded not guilty to charges that they were part of a conspiracy to send cocaine into the United States. They face potential life sentences if convicted. The case was first brought six years ago against numerous alleged co-conspirators.
Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, have been held at a Brooklyn jail since U.S. forces seized them from their Caracas home in a raid in early January. The Trump administration has called the operation a "surgical law enforcement operation," while Maduro has described himself as a prisoner of war and his capture as a kidnapping.
U.S. prosecutors allege that Maduro colluded with Venezuelan law enforcement to help drug kingpins move thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States.
Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein has scheduled oral arguments on the dismissal motions for November 17. Federal prosecutors are expected to file a response later this month. The trial is set to begin on June 1.