US Court Rejects Maduro’s Claim of Immunity in Narco-Terror Case

US prosecutors submitted a brief to a Manhattan federal court asserting that former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his spouse Cilia Flores lack any entitlement to immunity from the criminal case against them. The filing labeled the duo “former rogue officials of a formerly rogue state” and dismissed the defense’s argument that the 2019 Trump decision to cease recognizing Maduro obliges courts to defer to sovereign immunity.

The United States now acknowledges interim president Delcy Rodriguez, whose government has not requested immunity for Maduro. Both defendants were captured by US forces in a January 3 raid and are held in a Brooklyn federal lockup while awaiting trial on accusations of cocaine importation conspiracy, narco-terrorism conspiracy, and possession of firearms. They have pleaded not guilty and recently asked the judge to dismiss the case; a bond hearing for Flores is scheduled. The case, US v. Maduro, proceeds in the Southern District of New York.