Maduro and Wife Seek Immunity to Dismiss U.S. Drug Charges

Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife seek dismissal of U.S. drug trafficking charges based on sovereign immunity.

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from the fact record

Stands on 6 placed sources from 2 publishers.

Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores filed motions on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court to dismiss the drug trafficking indictment against them. ^[1] Cilia Flores's lawyers stated that immunity is an attribute of Venezuela's sovereignty and only Venezuela may surrender it. ^[2] Lawyers for Maduro and Flores argued that a judge is required by law to reject the indictment because it cannot be brought against a foreign leader recognized by their own country as the sitting head of state. ^[3] Maduro and his wife have been held at a Brooklyn jail since U.S. forces seized them from their Caracas home in a raid in early January 2025. ^[4] The legal team stated that no US court has ever held a criminal trial against a foreign head of state while their home country recognizes their immunity. ^[5] The defense argued that a foreign head of state is exempt from criminal proceedings in any country other than their own while their nation recognizes their immunity. ^[6]

What this stands on

Cilia Flores's lawyers stated that immunity is an attribute of Venezuela's sovereignty and only Venezuela may surrender it. · The Globe and Mail

Lawyers for Maduro and Flores argued that a judge is required by law to reject the indictment because it cannot be brought against a foreign leader recognized by their own country as the sitting head of state. · The Globe and Mail

Maduro and his wife have been held at a Brooklyn jail since U.S. forces seized them from their Caracas home in a raid in early January 2025. · The Globe and Mail

The legal team stated that no US court has ever held a criminal trial against a foreign head of state while their home country recognizes their immunity. · Amarujala

The defense argued that a foreign head of state is exempt from criminal proceedings in any country other than their own while their nation recognizes their immunity. · Amarujala

We could not place any of them by their address. None is an official body: that part stands on reporting, not on the underlying document or transcript.

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