Ousted Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are set to appear Thursday in a Manhattan federal courtroom for the first time since their January arrest, as their legal team pushes to have sweeping drug trafficking charges dismissed.
At the center of the hearing is a dispute over whether the U.S. government has improperly blocked the couple from accessing funds to pay for their defense. Lawyers for Maduro argue that restrictions tied to U.S. sanctions on Venezuela have prevented them from using government-controlled money, violating his constitutional rights and undermining his ability to mount a legal defense.
Federal prosecutors have rejected that claim, maintaining that Maduro and Flores are permitted to use personal and jointly held funds, but not money linked to sanctioned Venezuelan entities. The Justice Department has urged the court to deny the dismissal request and allow the case to proceed.
In court filings submitted ahead of the hearing, prosecutors also asked U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a 92-year-old appointee of former President Bill Clinton, to impose strict controls over how evidence is handled. They are seeking a protective order that would prevent Maduro and Flores from sharing discovery materials with four co-defendants who remain at large.
Prosecutors argued that Maduro’s alleged history of threatening political opponents raises serious concerns about witness safety and the integrity of the case. Allowing broader access to evidence, they said, could risk intimidation, destruction of evidence, or interference with investigations.
Outside the courthouse on Thursday, several groups of protesters gathered both in support of and against the former Venezuelan leader.
Hellerstein has not yet set a trial date, though that could change following Thursday’s proceedings.
Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, were captured during a nighttime U.S. operation in Caracas on Jan. 3 and flown to New York, where they were arraigned two days later.
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Both pleaded not guilty to charges that include narcoterrorism and drug trafficking, and they remain detained at a federal facility in Brooklyn. Neither has sought release on bail.
According to a federal indictment, Maduro and his alleged co-conspirators spent years working with violent drug trafficking organizations and corrupt officials to move large quantities of cocaine into the United States.