The defense of Nicolás Maduro presented two motions on Wednesday before the federal court in Manhattan to dismiss the criminal charges he faces in the United States, invoking the doctrine of sovereign immunity and challenging the court's jurisdiction over his case.
According to the report from the EFE agency, lawyer Barry Pollack filed a primary motion to dismiss all charges based on the immunity that, according to the defense, belongs to Maduro as the head of a sovereign state, along with a second subsidiary motion aimed solely at dismissing the charge of conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism.
"The Court would lack jurisdiction over Mr. Maduro if he were entitled either to sovereign immunity based on his position as head of State or to sovereign immunity based on conduct (...). He is entitled to both," Pollack argued in the legal document.
In the second motion, the defense argued that the charge of narco-terrorism "aims to accuse a foreign citizen" for "conduct that is exclusively foreign without properly alleging the jurisdictional element" and that it "falls outside the authority of Congress to regulate."
Additionally, Pollack requested to close the case "with prejudice," a legal term that would prevent the same charges from being brought in the future.
Maduro faces charges of conspiracy to commit acts of narco-terrorism, cocaine importation, and possession of automatic weapons, all of which carry a potential sentence of life in prison.
He was captured in Caracas on January 3, 2026 during the U.S. military operation called "Absolute Resolution" and remains imprisoned at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn alongside his wife Cilia Flores.
Since his first appearance before Judge Alvin Hellerstein, Maduro pleaded not guilty and described himself as a "prisoner of war."
The strategy of his defense to avoid trial faces, however, significant legal obstacles: Washington stopped recognizing Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela in 2019, which considerably weakens his claim to immunity.
The most relevant precedent works against him. In 1990, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the immunity argument of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega—captured by U.S. troops in 1989—using identical reasoning: Washington never recognized him as a legitimate ruler.
While his defense is fighting the legal battle, Maduro has been in communication with the outside world from Brooklyn.
At the end of last month, he published photographs taken in June from inside the prison, in which he is seen wearing gray athletic clothing and making a victory sign, accompanied by the message "I want you to know that we are standing strong."
The U.S. Attorney's Office has until October 2 to respond to the motions to dismiss. Judge Hellerstein will hold a hearing on the filing attempt on November 17, and if the motions fail, the trial will be set for June 1, 2027.
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