The federal judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, who presided over the criminal proceedings against Nicolás Maduro in the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, passed away this Wednesday at the age of 92, as confirmed by judiciary spokesperson Ed Friedland.
Hellerstein was about to turn 93 years old — he was born on December 28, 1933 — and had been presiding over Maduro's case since March 2020, when the U.S. Attorney's Office filed the original narcoterrorism charges.
Friedland reported that the case, along with other proceedings supervised by the magistrate, "will be randomly assigned to another federal judge," with the name of the successor yet to be announced.
His death comes at a particularly sensitive time in the process. Before passing away, Hellerstein was set to resolve the motion for sovereign immunity filed by Maduro's defense on September 2, 2026, which seeks the dismissal of all charges on the grounds that the defendant acted as a foreign head of state.
An audience regarding this and other motions was scheduled for November 17, and the start of the trial has been set for June 14, 2027. The reassignment of the case introduces uncertainty about both dates.
Appointed as a district judge by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1998, Hellerstein was a significant figure in the federal judicial system. Since 2011, he held the status of senior judge, which allowed him to remain active in high-impact cases with a reduced caseload.
He studied at Columbia University, served in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps from 1957 to 1960, and worked for nearly four decades at the law firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. He was known for presiding over the massive litigations arising from the September 11, 2001 attacks, as well as cases against high-ranking financial executives and actions related to former Venezuelan officials, including Hugo "El Pollo" Carvajal.
After Maduro's capture in Caracas on January 3, 2026, and his transfer to the United States, Hellerstein presided over his first appearance alongside his wife, Cilia Flores, before a federal court in Manhattan, where both pleaded not guilty.
On October 8, the Prosecutor's Office filed a substitute indictment that expanded the charges to include conspiracy to commit torture and formally incorporated Flores into the charge of narco-terrorism. Both pleaded not guilty before Hellerstein on October 15.
The accumulated charges carry mandatory minimum sentences of approximately 50 years in prison if they are convicted on all counts.
The United States government rejects the argument of sovereign immunity, stating that Washington recognizes Delcy Rodríguez —not Maduro— as the legitimate authority of Venezuela. The motion for immunity presented by the defense was precisely one of the most urgent issues that the new judge will have to address.
As noted in an analysis published at the beginning of the year, in Hellerstein's hands "there was not only a criminal trial but also an unprecedented chapter in the relationship between the United States and Venezuela." Now, that chapter will have to continue with a different judge.
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