Alvin K. Hellerstein

A New York federal judge set June 1, 2027, as the preliminary trial start date for Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores in a U.S. narcoterrorism case. The decision was made during a brief hearing at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, attended a hearing in New York on July 22, 2026, where US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein set their trial date for June 1, 2027, at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Court House. The trial involves Maduro, Flores, and their lawyers Barry Pollack, Anna Estevao, and Mark Donnelly.

A federal judge set a June 2027 trial date for Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores on narcoterrorism and weapons charges following their January capture by Donald Trump. Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty, and a pre-trial hearing on legal arguments, including immunity claims, is scheduled for November. The judge also approved allowing Maduro to use Venezuelan funds for his defense.

Former President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores will face a June 1 trial in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges. Their lawyers are challenging the indictment's legality, arguing the U.S. military's seizure of them was unlawful.

A June 1 trial date was set for Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in their U.S. drug trafficking case. They were arrested in a U.S. military raid in January and face life sentences if convicted. Their lawyers plan to challenge the indictment, citing sovereign immunity and the legality of the abduction, while the U.S. administration defended the operation as a law enforcement action.

Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores appear in a New York court for a pretrial hearing in a U.S. drug trafficking case. They were seized by U.S. forces from their Caracas home in January and face potential life sentences if convicted of conspiring to send cocaine into the U.S. Both have pleaded not guilty and contest the legality of their abduction.

Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are held at a Brooklyn jail after being seized by U.S. forces in a raid that brought them to New York to face drug trafficking charges. Both have pleaded not guilty and could face life sentences, with Maduro's lawyers contesting the legality of their detention as a 'military abduction.' The U.S. administration describes the operation as a 'surgical law enforcement action,' while Maduro claims he is a 'prisoner of war.'