Maduro calls for dismissal of drug trafficking charges in the US claiming immunity as head of state

Deposed Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro asked a United States judge on Wednesday (2) to dismiss criminal drug trafficking charges against him, arguing that he should have judicial immunity as the leader of a sovereign country.

The charges, filed in a Manhattan federal court, served as the basis for the January 3 operation, in which the American Armed Forces invaded Caracas and captured Maduro. He has pleaded not guilty and is due to stand trial from June 1, 2027, if his attempt to dismiss the case is unsuccessful.

The principle that sitting heads of state have judicial immunity abroad is a long-standing precept of international law, considered fundamental to diplomacy. Maduro's attempt to convince Manhattan federal judge Alvin Hellerstein to dismiss the case will test the general reluctance of U.S. courts to apply international law in criminal cases.

Maduro's lawyer, Barry Pollack stated that Hellerstein did not have jurisdiction, both because sovereign heads of state enjoy absolute immunity and because the acts of which Maduro is accused would have been carried out in the exercise of his official functions.

"This unprecedented process violates the absolute immunity from criminal jurisdiction to which heads of state and foreign officials in the exercise of their official functions have been entitled for hundreds of years," Pollack wrote. The lawyer stated that Maduro was falsely accused and "vehemently denies" the allegations.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, which is responsible for bringing the charges, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Legal experts told Reuters that Maduro faces an uphill battle. Washington has not recognized Maduro as president of Venezuela since 2019, and courts tend to defer to the positions of the US president and his cabinet in disputes over who is recognized as the leader of a foreign country.

Criminal cases in the US involving foreign heads of state are extremely rare, but cases similar to Maduro's are generally not in their favor. In 1990, a federal judge in Miami rejected former Panamanian military leader Manuel Noriega's attempt to claim immunity as head of state, in part because he never officially held the office of president.

The US stopped recognizing Maduro in 2019, when he took office following an election held in 2018 that, according to the American government, was rigged. The US has also classified his re-election in 2024 as fraudulent. Maduro maintains that both votes were legitimate and has long accused Washington of seeking his ouster to take control of the South American country's oil wealth.

Since Maduro's capture, his deputy and ally, Delcy Rodríguez, has been in charge of Venezuela and has expanded cooperation with the Trump administration, which oversees the regime without Maduro. Last month, the two countries reached an unprecedented agreement that would allow the US to take control of about a fifth of Venezuela's oil reserves. The American Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, was in Caracas this Wednesday to finalize the pact.

Prosecutors have until October 2 to respond to Maduro's request to dismiss the indictment, and Hellerstein will hold a hearing on the attempted dismissal on November 17.