New York (AFP) – Venezuela’s ousted leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife asked a US judge late Wednesday to dismiss drug trafficking charges against them, claiming they have immunity as president and first lady of a sovereign country. The pair have been held in a Brooklyn jail ever since US forces seized them in Caracas on January 3 in a stunning operation to depose the authoritarian Venezuelan leader.
Maduro and Cilia Flores have both pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking and firearms charges. A hearing on their dismissal arguments is scheduled in New York for November 7, while their trial is set for June 2027.
“No American court has ever presided over the criminal trial of a foreign leader who was recognized by their own country as the sitting head of state at the time the charges were brought,” reads a court filing by Maduro’s lawyer. “That is not an accident of history. It reflects a rule older than the common law: heads of state are exempt from the criminal process of any national court but their own,” it adds.
Maduro is further entitled to sovereign immunity as the US charges relate to his alleged conduct while he was serving as president of Venezuela, the filing says. US prosecutors claim that Maduro used state power to protect and promote illegal drug smuggling, and that he allied himself with cartels to ship tons of cocaine into the United States.
Maduro has denied the four counts he faces: “narco-terrorism” conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices as well as conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. Flores has similarly pleaded not guilty to the three counts she faces: cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
On Sunday, Maduro said that he was “standing firm” in a social media post accompanied by two photos from jail of him wearing a gray tracksuit and making peace signs with his hands. Maduro has previously told a US court he was “kidnapped” and described himself as a “prisoner of war.”
Since his capture, vice president Delcy Rodriguez has governed Venezuela as interim leader under intense pressure from US President Donald Trump’s administration. US energy firms this week signed a raft of multi-billion-dollar deals with Venezuela, days after the South American country agreed to grant the United States control of a huge chunk of its vast oil reserves. Critics in both the US and Venezuela accuse Trump of holding the country for ransom after ousting Maduro and warn that Rodriguez could face a similar fate if she does not meet US demands.
© 2024 AFP
