Maduro asks US court to dismiss charges, citing head-of-state immunity

Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has asked a US judge to dismiss criminal drug trafficking charges against him, arguing that he should be immune from prosecution as the leader of a sovereign nation.

Maduro's attorney, Barry Pollack, filed the motion before the Manhattan district court on Wednesday (September 3, local time). The legal team petitioned Judge Alvin Hellerstein to throw out the case, a move seen as a test of US courts' willingness to apply international law in criminal proceedings.

Maduro was arrested and detained on January 3 after then-US President Donald Trump authorized a military raid in Caracas. The Venezuelan leader, held at a federal prison in Brooklyn, has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial on June 1, 2027, if his attempt to dismiss the case fails.

The principle that a sitting head of state is immune from prosecution abroad is a long-standing rule of international law, considered fundamental to diplomacy.

Judge Hellerstein set a Wednesday deadline for Pollack to file the dismissal motion. Pollack argued that the court lacks jurisdiction both because heads of state enjoy absolute immunity and because the acts Maduro is accused of fall within his official duties.

“This unprecedented prosecution violates the absolute immunity from criminal jurisdiction that heads of state and foreign officials acting within the scope of their official duties have enjoyed for hundreds of years,” Pollack wrote in the filing.

Pollack added that Maduro is falsely accused and “vigorously denies” the charges. A spokesperson for the US Attorney's Office in Manhattan, which brought the indictment, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Maduro faces uphill battle

Legal experts say Maduro faces a difficult fight ahead. Washington has for years refused to recognize Maduro as Venezuela's president due to disputed elections. US courts typically defer to the president and cabinet on disputes over who is recognized as the leader of a foreign country.

Criminal cases in the US involving foreign heads of state are extremely rare, and precedent offers little hope for Maduro. In 1990, a federal judge in Miami rejected former Panamanian military leader Manuel Noriega's attempt to assert head-of-state immunity, partly because he never formally held the title of president.

The US stopped recognizing Maduro in 2019, when he began a second term after the 2018 election critics decried as fraudulent. Washington also called his 2024 re-election a sham. Maduro insists both votes were fair and has long accused the US of seeking to oust him to control the South American nation's oil resources.

However, Pollack wrote that Washington's assessment of Maduro's legitimacy is irrelevant. “Unlike in Noriega, the executive branch does not deny that Maduro was the head of state of Venezuela; it merely states that after 2019, he no longer held that position legitimately,” Pollack wrote.

Venezuela run by Maduro's vice president

Since Maduro's arrest, Delcy Rodriguez, his former vice president and socialist ally, has run Venezuela as interim leader. She has also increased cooperation with the Trump administration. Last month, the two countries reached an unprecedented deal allowing the US to take over about one-fifth of Venezuela's oil reserves.

Pollack wrote that it is “absurd” for the US to recognize Rodriguez, who was appointed by Maduro, while not recognizing Maduro. He cited statements from Rodriguez and officials in her government, made in January and February, indicating they still consider Maduro the legitimate head of state of Venezuela. Rodriguez's government has since remained silent on the matter. Some murals of Maduro in Caracas have been painted over in recent months.

Prosecutors have until October 2 to respond to Maduro's motion to dismiss the indictment. Judge Hellerstein will hold a hearing on the dismissal motion on November 17.