The drug trafficking trial against Venezuela’s deposed socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, will begin on June 1, 2027, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein announced on Wednesday.
The date stems from a joint proposal by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office and the dictator’s defense team, led by American lawyer Barry Pollack, outlets reported.
Maduro and Flores appeared before a Manhattan federal court on Wednesday for the first time since their March appearance. Reuters reports that the new hearing lasted about 20 minutes — during which Judge Hellerstein also set a September 2 deadline for the first round of legal motions by Maduro’s defense, who is seeking to have the case dismissed on alleged immunity grounds. Additionally, Judge Hellerstein set a November 17 hearing for the arguments on said motions.
“The parties all agree that this is a realistic schedule. We don’t think it’s going to slip, but obviously if anything comes up we will inform your honor,” Pollack reportedly told Judge Hellerstein on Wednesday.
Nicolás Maduro, long wanted by U.S. authorities on multiple drug trafficking charges, was arrested alongside his wife during a U.S. law enforcement operation in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 3. Since then, the pair has remained detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn.
Maduro and Flores face a litany of drug trafficking charges — with a potential life in prison sentence if convicted. Maduro pleaded “not guilty” during to the charges during his arraignment in January.
Per the BBC, the courtroom was “packed with spectators,” with people lining up for hours for the chance to see a glimpse of Maduro in person. The Colombian news channel NTN24 reports that the courtroom was “completely full.” Maduro reportedly appeared “visibly thinner” and wearing a beige prisoner uniform
The deposed dictator succeeded Hugo Chávez at the head of the Venezuelan socialist regime in 2013 after Chávez died of an undisclosed type of cancer in March 2013. Chávez’s death triggered a snap election in April 2013 that resulted in a narrow and highly-questionable victory for the socialist dictator. Maduro then illegitimately clung to power first by holding sham elections in 2018 and 2024.
Maduro’s son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, condemned the trial against his father as “unfair” during a Wednesday rally in Caracas alongside sympathizers of the deposed socialist dictator — demanding the “immediate release” of Maduro and Flores. Nicolás Maduro Guerra is listed as one of the co-conspirators in his father’s ongoing drug trafficking trial.
“Today, the streets were filled with solidarity. More than just a demonstration, it was the Venezuelan family coming together to tell the world that we continue to fight, that we take care of our own, and that justice is and will always be our most sacred cause. Freedom for Cilia and Nicolás,” the dictator’s son wrote on a social media post.
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