Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro’s legal defense asked a U.S. federal judge on Wednesday to dismiss the charges against him, arguing that his position as head of a sovereign nation grants him absolute immunity from prosecution abroad.
The defense of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, asked this Wednesday to dismiss the criminal case against him in the United States under the legal argument of sovereign immunity, as recorded in the digital judicial file. The motion, submitted in Manhattan federal court by defense lawyer Barry Pollack, arrived on the deadline set by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to formally present its arguments.
Barry Pollack offered two grounds for throwing out the indictment: the first aims to dismiss all charges based on sovereign immunity, meanwhile the second, in case of failure, would seek to dismiss the alleged conspiracy charge for narco-terrorism.
Pollack contended that Hellerstein lacks jurisdiction because sitting heads of State enjoy complete immunity from criminal proceedings in foreign courts.
“This court has no jurisdiction over Mr. Maduro if he were entitled either to sovereign immunity based on his status as head of state or to sovereign immunity based on conduct (…) he has the right to both,” argued the Venezuelan legal team in a document presented to the court this Wednesday, in which they request the dismissal of charges of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism and also asks to close the case “with prejudice,” which in practice prevents the same charge being brought again.
“This unprecedented prosecution violates the absolute immunity from criminal jurisdiction to which heads of state and foreign officials acting in their official capacities have been entitled for hundreds of years,” Pollack affirmed.
The defense lawyer added that the Venezuelan leader was falsely accused and “vehemently denies” the allegations, which formed the legal justification for the U.S. military attack on Caracas on January 3 that resulted in the illegal kidnapping of President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, since when they have been held in a federal prison in New York.
Unqualified Charge
President Maduro was the subject of a campaign that linked him to alleged drug trafficking following the Trump administration’s accusations, which pointed the Venezuelan President as the supposed leader of the so-called “Cartel de los Soles“. After that, the U.S. Department of Justice substantially modified the accusation and dismissed the claim that this denomination is a real criminal organization.
Following this, Pollack requested the withdrawal of the drug terrorism (narco-terrorism) charge arguing that the court also has no jurisdiction and is not properly formulated under U.S. law. The charge “intends to accuse a foreign citizen” for an “exclusively foreign conduct without adequately invoking the jurisdictional element”, he pointed out. It does not establish its “intention to cause injury to the United States, its citizens or their interests”, and that “is not within the authority of Congress to regulate“, Pollack added.
An Uphill Legal Battle
Legal experts have cautioned that President Maduro faces an uphill battle. Washington has not recognized him as Venezuelan President since 2019 -despite having been held elections under legal rules in force in the South American country-, and U.S. courts tend to defer to the President and the cabinet in disputes over which foreign leader holds official recognition.
Historical precedent offers little encouragement. 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 officially held the title of President. On the contrary, President Maduro was still formally serving as the legitime Venezuelan President when he was kidnapped.
In February, President Maduro’s defense called for the charges to be dropped when the U.S. Treasury Department prevented his lawyers from receiving payments from Venezuela to fund his defense, owing to sanctions imposed on his country.
President Maduro has pleaded “not guilty,” and a trial is scheduled to begin on June 1, 2027, if the case survives the dismissal effort.
The procedural calendar now stretches into the coming months. Prosecutors must respond to the motion by October 2, and Hellerstein will hold a hearing on November 17. The eventual ruling will test the readiness of U.S. courts to apply international law in criminal cases, a practice they have historically resisted.
Head-of-state immunity stands as a longstanding tenet of international law, widely regarded as essential to the conduct of diplomacy between sovereign nations. Whether that principle survives contact with an U.S. courtroom will shape not only President Maduro’s fate but also the broader precedent for how the United States treats foreign leaders it opposes.
Author: Laura V. Mor
Source: Agencies
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