US Says Maduro and Cilia Flores Have No Immunity
JUSTICE · VENEZUELA
Key Facts
- —The country Venezuela’s former president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been held in Brooklyn since US forces seized them in Caracas on 3 January 2026.
- —What happened On Friday 2 October 2026, prosecutors filed their opposition to the couple’s three motions to dismiss, two of them on immunity grounds, the court docket shows.
- —Who is involved Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in Manhattan federal court. Barry Pollack defends Maduro and Mark Donnelly defends Flores. Both have pleaded not guilty.
- —What it means for you The case stays on course for a jury trial on 1 June 2027 unless the judge accepts the immunity claims. His ruling will test how US courts treat deposed foreign leaders.
- —Still open The full brief is not yet on free public archives. Defence replies are due 16 October; oral argument is set for 17 November.
US prosecutors have asked a New York judge to reject immunity claims by Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores. They want the drug trafficking case against Venezuela’s former president and his wife to go to trial.
The government filed its response on Friday 2 October, the deadline the court had set in July. It answers motions the defence lodged on 2 September, first reported in Venezuela Oil Deal Expands As Maduro Claims Immunity.
What the Prosecutors Filed
The case sits in the Southern District of New York, the federal trial court for Manhattan. Its docket lists a government memorandum in opposition, filed by Assistant US Attorney Henry Ross. A declaration signed by someone named Segura is attached.
The brief answers three motions: Maduro’s immunity motion, his separate challenge to the first count, and Flores’s own immunity motion. The full text is not yet on the free archive that mirrors the docket.
Its content was summarised by Venezuelan lawyer Nizar El Fakih and reported by the outlet Monitoreamos on 3 October. On that account, four Justice Department prosecutors signed it, with a State Department declaration attached.
The brief reportedly says Washington has not recognised Maduro as president, or Flores as first lady, since 2019. It also argues their alleged trafficking broke Venezuelan law, so it cannot count as official acts deserving immunity. These details have not been independently confirmed.
What the Defence Argues
Maduro’s 2 September motion claims two shields: immunity as a head of state and immunity for official acts. It says no US court has tried a foreign leader “recognized by their own country as the sitting head of state” when charged.
The defence argues that formal US recognition is not required, because Maduro exercised the presidency in fact. Flores’s lawyers argue immunity “is an attribute of Venezuela’s sovereignty, and only Venezuela may surrender it,” CBS News reported.
A separate motion attacks the narco-terrorism conspiracy count as beyond US reach. Maduro has also reserved a later challenge over the legality of the January raid that brought him to New York.
Precedent and the Court Calendar
Precedent favours the government. In the case of Panama’s Manuel Noriega, US courts deferred to the executive and rejected his head-of-state claim. A Congressional Research Service report notes this.
The defence has one argument Noriega lacked. Washington now recognises acting president Delcy Rodríguez, whose post flows from Maduro appointing her after elections Washington called illegitimate, Maduro’s lawyers point out.
Under the court’s July schedule, defence replies are due on 16 October. Hellerstein will hear oral argument on 17 November, and a second round of motions is due on 11 January 2027.
Separately, a bail hearing for Flores is set for 8 October, the docket shows. Prosecutors opposed her request on 23 September, calling her an “extreme flight risk”, CNN en Español reported. Background is in Maduro’s Wife Wants Out of a Brooklyn Jail. Reports That Cilia Flores Was Refused Are Wrong.
One senior prosecutor, Jason Richman, asked on 25 September to end his appearance in the case. Henry Ross, who filed Friday’s brief, remains on the case, and the trial date has not moved. For the wider story, see Who Is Nicolás Maduro? Venezuela’s Deposed Leader and His 2027 US Trial Explained.
What Is Not Yet Known
The exact wording of the brief and its State Department declaration has not been made widely available. Nor is it clear whether Venezuela’s acting government will back the immunity claim in court.
Hellerstein has set no date for a ruling after the November hearing. The defence has not said when it will file its challenge over the January raid.
Sources: US District Court for the Southern District of New York, docket 1:11-cr-00205, entries of 22 July to 2 October 2026 (CourtListener); Monitoreamos, 3 October 2026; Maduro defence memorandum, 2 September 2026; Reuters, 2 September 2026; CBS News, 3 September 2026; Bloomberg Law, 3 September 2026; CNN en Español, 24 September 2026; Congressional Research Service, LSB11401.
In depth
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