Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro returned to a New York courtroom Thursday as he seeks to have his drug trafficking indictment thrown out over a geopolitical dispute over legal fees.
It's the first time that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, was in court since a January arraignment at which he protested their capture by U.S. military forces and declared: "I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country." Flores has also pleaded not guilty.
Both remain jailed at a detention center in Brooklyn, and neither has asked to be released on bail. Judge Alvin Hellerstein has yet to set a trial date.
Here is the latest:
Hearing concludes with no decisions
Maduro shook hands with his lawyer and translator and waved to Flores’ lawyer as he was led out by officers with the U.S. Marshals Service.
As he left the defense table, he told his lawyer, “Hasta mañana,” which is Spanish for, “See you tomorrow.”
Hellerstein will rule at a later date on the funding issue. He will also set another hearing date.
Judge says he won’t decide funding for Maduro’s defense today
The judge didn’t say exactly when he would decide whether Maduro can use funds from the Venezuelan government for his defense.
The court hearing was continuing as the judge took up another matter.
What happens if the judge lets Maduro use Venezuelan government funds?
The exchange between the prosecutor and judge is getting into the legal mechanics of that issue.
They discussed whether the judge legally could order the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control to grant a license that would effectively release the money.
The prosecutor argued that there’s no legal pathway for that.
Maduro’s lawyer said the solution is simply to throw out the case.
The judge retorted: “I’m not going to dismiss the case.”
Maduro’s own financial situation is key to whether he qualifies for public defenders
Because of that, the judge asked prosecutors what they’ve found out about whether Maduro has the money to pay for his own defense.
Wirshba says they’re still investigating.
Wirshba also argued that public defenders and court-appointed lawyers in New York have handled other far-flung cases and could manage Maduro’s.
The judge said he has all respect for those attorneys’ ability, but “this is a case that is beyond the normal and could hamper their ability to do their normal work.”
Prosecutor says Maduro can use his own money for his defense
Prosecutor Kyle Wirshba cast it as an issue of the U.S. government’s ability to use sanctions to advance national security and foreign policy interests.
But Judge Alvin Hellerstein pressed him on why that argument holds now that U.S. and Venezuelan relations have warmed somewhat. “We are doing business with Venezuela,” he noted.
Wirshba responded that “simply because there are relations with another government” doesn’t mean Washington can’t maintain its sanctions.
“If the purpose of the sanctions is because the defendants are plundering the wealth of Venezuela, it would undermine the sanctions to allow them access the same funds now to pay for their defense,” the prosecutor told the judge.
He added that Maduro and Flores can use their own money for their defense. Maduro has said he doesn’t have the money to do so.
Maduro’s attorney says it doesn’t make sense for public defenders to represent him
Maduro’s attorney is arguing that if the former Venezuelan president gets public defenders, that would sap legal resources that are meant for people who can’t afford their own attorneys.
Pollack is telling the judge that doesn’t make sense in “a case where you have someone other than the U.S. taxpayer standing ready, willing and able to fund that defense.”
Maduro’s attorneys say US should let him use Venezuelan government funds for his defense
Maduro lawyer Barry Pollack is making complex legal arguments for why the U.S. should let Maduro access Venezuelan government funds to pay for his defense.
The judge is asking questions.
Maduro appears to be taking notes.
Maduro glances at his wife in the courtroom
Maduro, in a jail uniform, is seated between his attorneys at a defense table.
He glanced at his wife, who is sitting between her own attorneys to the right of him and his attorneys. She’s also in a jail uniform.
The couple are both wearing headphones to hear interpretation.
Nicolás Maduro arrives in US court
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been brought into a New York courtroom as he seeks to have his drug trafficking indictment thrown out over a geopolitical dispute over legal fees.
Thursday's hearing is the first time Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been in court since a January arraignment at which he protested their capture by U.S. military forces and declared: "I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country." Flores has also pleaded not guilty.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein has yet to set a trial date, though that could happen at Thursday’s hearing.
Some supporters of Maduro’s party hesitate to say whether he should return as president
In Caracas, Eduardo Cubillan condemned the violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty during the Jan. 3 operation. But the 80-year-old retiree hesitated to say whether he would like Maduro to return as president.
While Maduro’s ruling party remains in power, he has slowly been erased from the government of Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president. Cubillan’s hesitation reflected a dilemma that many ruling party supporters face as they see Rodríguez reach agreements with the U.S. that could bring economic improvements.
“We hope that in the United States, if justice truly exists, a trial will be held that will lead to President Maduro’s freedom, because this kidnapping violated international legal principles, and we want justice to be served,” Cubillan said.
Trump says Maduro will ‘be given a fair trial’
During his Cabinet meeting, President Trump accused Maduro of being a “major purveyor of drugs coming into our country.”
Trump said Maduro would be given “a fair trial. But I would imagine there are other trials coming.” He didn’t provide details, but suggested the current charges Maduro is facing might be “a fraction of the kind of things that he’s done.”
A noisy scene near the courthouse in New York
Protesters and supporters are still gathering. They’re chanting, blowing horns and beating drums and cowbells.
Among the anti-Maduro contingent, one person is waving a sign reading, “Maduro rot in prison.”
On the other side of a metal barrier, people wave signs saying, “Free President Maduro.”
Court officer warns people in the gallery to stay quiet
The officer prefaced Thursday’s hearing with a warning to spectators to stay quiet and seated while the former Venezuelan president is in the courtroom.
People who speak out will be removed and could face legal consequences, he said. The officer acknowledged, “This may be a sensitive case for some of you” and added, “you’re in a federal courthouse. Please respect the institution and what it stands for.”
Supporters in Caracas take selfies, wave flags
In Caracas, many attendees wore the uniform of their state agency employer, took selfies to report to managers their participation at the event and waved Venezuelan flags as a group played regional music.
A woman attached action figures modeled after Maduro and Flores to her flag.
A screen behind the stage showed a photo of the couple taken during Maduro’s January 2025 swearing in ceremony and the phrase “83 days have gone by since their kidnapping.”
Supporters gather in Caracas to pray for Maduro and Flores
In Venezuela’s capital, a couple hundred people, among them ruling party supporters, state employees and civilian militia members, gathered at a public plaza Thursday morning, planning to pray for Maduro and Flores and to watch the couple’s hearing, unaware that U.S. federal courts do not allow cameras.
A large screen mixed footage of Maduro, the Venezuelan flag and the country’s recent World Baseball Classic championship win.
“We are going to see him today,” ruling party leader Carmen Melendez told the crowd. “We may see him skinnier. … But that’s our president.”
Pro-Maduro protesters rally outside the courthouse
A group of demonstrators held Venezuela flags and signs saying “Free President Maduro.” They also shouted “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air. U.S. out of everywhere,” denouncing U.S. military actions abroad.
Some carried an inflatable doll depicting Maduro in orange clothing resembling prison garb.
Signs indicated some of the protesters were affiliated with the Workers World Party, which describes itself as a revolutionary socialist party.
Secure motorcades can slip through notorious New York traffic with ease
The last time Maduro appeared at the courthouse, he was brought there in spectacular fashion.
A helicopter flew him from Brooklyn to a heliport in Manhattan, where a motorcade of law enforcement vehicles whisked him to the courthouse in just a few minutes.
The city’s multiple local and federal law enforcement agencies have made an art form out of transporting important people through streets that are often choked with traffic.
When Trump was on trial at a courthouse in the same Lower Manhattan neighborhood in 2024, police made sure his Secret Service motorcade also had an unobstructed and traffic-free path to the courthouse.
Judge presiding over case has decades of experience
The judge presiding over Maduro’s case is 92 years old.
A native New Yorker, Alvin K. Hellerstein was nominated to the court by President Bill Clinton in 1998.
He’s not the oldest judge on the federal bench in New York. That honor belongs to Judge Louis L. Stanton, who is 98.
Hellerstein has handled many other big cases. For nearly 25 years, he has also presided over civil litigation resulting from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York.
Hearing not expected to address heavy legal issues
Legal issues surrounding the drug trafficking case against Maduro are expected to be complex, but they are unlikely to surface in a prolonged way at Thursday’s hearing.
The main subject of the court appearance involves how to pay his lawyers. Because of U.S. sanctions, the legal team can’t simply accept a check from Venezuela’s government. They need permission from the U.S. government. But U.S. authorities don’t want to grant it. They say Maduro can pay for his defense himself.
The dispute will get worked out in court.
Ex-Venezuelan president faces drug charges
The indictment against Maduro accuses him of carrying out a wide-ranging conspiracy to traffic illegal drugs into the U.S. for more than a quarter century.
It says he cleared the way for thousands of tons of cocaine to enter the United States by teaming up at times with Venezuelan law enforcement to aid drug kingpins.
Maduro says he’s innocent. His supporters say that the U.S. military seized Maduro because U.S. President Donald Trump wanted regime change in Venezuela.
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