Nicolas Maduro to face trial on U.S. drug trafficking charges in June 2027

Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are set to face trial on drug trafficking charges in the United States in June 2027. U.S. forces apprehended the couple from their Caracas home in January 2026 and brought them to New York, where they have been held in a Brooklyn jail.

Both Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, have pleaded not guilty to federal narcotics trafficking charges. Prosecutors allege they were part of a conspiracy to move thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S. by colluding with Venezuelan law enforcement to aid drug kingpins. If convicted, they face potential life prison sentences.

Maduro, who has referred to himself as a prisoner of war and his capture as a kidnapping, maintained his innocence during a recent procedural hearing. He called himself a "decent man" and asserted that he and his wife are "innocent." The judge, Alvin K. Hellerstein, set the trial date at the request of both the prosecution and defense, with preliminary motions to challenge the indictment due to begin in early September.

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I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.