Nicolás Maduro asks U.S. court to dismiss case on sovereign-immunity grounds

Nicolás Maduro’s defense is asking a U.S. court to shut down the criminal case against him, arguing that the former Venezuelan president acted as a de facto head of state and therefore enjoys sovereign immunity.

Attorney Barry Pollack filed two motions in the New York court handling the case. The first seeks dismissal of the entire indictment. The second offers an alternative request: removing only the charge of conspiring to commit narcoterrorism.

Pollack argues that U.S. courts lack jurisdiction because the conduct underlying the charges allegedly falls within Maduro’s official functions and the powers of the Venezuelan state. The defense claims he is entitled both to immunity as a head of state and to immunity for official acts. It also asks the court to dismiss the case with prejudice, which would prevent the same charges from being brought again.

The defense separately challenges the narcoterrorism-conspiracy count. It argues that the court cannot exercise jurisdiction over conduct allegedly carried out entirely outside the United States and says the indictment did not properly establish the jurisdictional element required under U.S. law.

Maduro remains held in a New York prison. He faces charges of conspiring to commit narcoterrorism, importing cocaine and possessing automatic weapons after his capture in Caracas on Jan. 3. Judge Alvin Hellerstein set Sept. 2 as the deadline for the immunity filings. Prosecutors have until Oct. 2 to respond, a hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17, and the trial is currently set for June 2027.

Cilia Flores, Maduro’s wife, has made a similar request through her lawyer, Mark Donnely. Her defense argues that she shares Maduro’s sovereign immunity as Venezuela’s first lady and cites other U.S. cases in which the wives of heads of state were granted immunity.