Maduro's Lawyer Claims US Judges Lack Jurisdiction Over Venezuelan Leader

Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is asking a United States judge to drop criminal drug trafficking charges against him. His legal team argues he must be immune from prosecution because he serves as the head of a sovereign nation. Barry Pollack, who represents Maduro, made this plea in a Manhattan district court on Wednesday. The case could test how willing US courts are to apply international law to criminal matters involving foreign leaders.

Pollack told District Judge Alvin Hellerstein that the judge lacks jurisdiction over this specific situation. He claimed sovereign heads of state enjoy complete immunity and argued that any acts Maduro is accused of were part of his official duties. This unprecedented prosecution violates the absolute immunity from criminal jurisdiction which heads of state have been entitled to for hundreds of years, according to a written statement by Pollack. The lawyer added that Maduro was falsely accused and vehemently denies all allegations.

Maduro was abducted on January 3 after President Donald Trump authorised a military raid in Caracas. The former leader has been held in a Brooklyn federal jail since that day. He pleaded not guilty during his detention. If his effort to dismiss the case fails, he is scheduled to go on trial on June 1, 2027. Judge Hellerstein gave Pollack a Wednesday deadline to file this motion.

Legal experts speaking with Reuters say Maduro faces an uphill battle in getting these charges dropped. Washington has not recognised Maduro as Venezuela's president for years due to disputed elections. Courts often defer to the US president and his cabinet when disputes arise over who counts as a foreign country's leader. While cases involving heads of foreign states are extremely rare, past precedent offers little encouragement for Maduro's team.

In 1990, a federal judge in Miami rejected former Panamanian military leader Manuel Noriega's attempt to assert head-of-state immunity. The court ruled against him partly because he never officially held the title of president. The US stopped recognising Maduro back in 2019 when he was inaugurated for a second time following an election critics say was rigged. Washington also called his 2024 re-election fraudulent while Pollack argued that Washington's assessment regarding legitimacy is not relevant to the immunity question.

Unlike Noriega, the Executive Branch does not dispute that Mr Maduro was Venezuela's head of state, but instead merely claims he did not occupy that position legitimately after 2019, Pollack wrote in his filings. Since Maduro's abduction, his former vice president and socialist ally Delcy Rodriguez has run Venezuela as its interim leader. She has also increased cooperation with the Trump administration while handling the country's affairs from behind the scenes. A spokesperson for the Manhattan US Attorney's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on these developments.

Last month, two nations struck an unprecedented agreement allowing the United States to control roughly one-fifth of Venezuela's oil reserves. Pollack argued it felt incongruous for the US to recognize Rodriguez while ignoring Maduro himself, noting she was appointed by him. He highlighted remarks from January and February where Rodriguez and her officials still treated Maduro as the legitimate head of state. Since then, Rodriguez's government has gone quiet on this specific issue. Murals depicting Maduro in Caracas have been painted over during recent months. Prosecutors must respond to Maduro's motion to dismiss the indictment by October 2. Hellerstein will hold a hearing on that dismissal effort on November 17.