Nicolas Maduro to appear in New York court for drug trafficking charges
Hızlı Bakış
- Venezuela's ousted president Nicolas Maduro is set to appear in a New York court for his third public hearing on Wednesday, facing drug trafficking and firearms charges.
- Captured by US forces in January, Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have pleaded not guilty, with prosecutors proposing a June 2027 trial date.
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Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's ousted president, was captured by US forces in a nighttime raid in January and has since been held in a Brooklyn jail, awaiting trial on drug trafficking and firearms charges. He and his wife have pleaded not guilty.
Venezuela's ousted president Nicolas Maduro is due to appear before a New York court on Wednesday for his third public hearing since US forces captured him in a nighttime raid in January.
In a court filing late on Tuesday, prosecutors and defence lawyers proposed a June 2027 trial date, which Judge Alvin Hellerstein could confirm at Wednesday's procedural hearing.
Meanwhile, outside the court, demonstrators have held signs in support of the ousted president and his wife.
Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have been held in a Brooklyn jail since the US military operation, awaiting trial on drug trafficking, firearms and other charges.
Both have pleaded not guilty. They face possible life sentences if a jury finds they conspired to send cocaine into the United States.
“I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country,” Maduro said at his arraignment in January.
US President Donald Trump's administration has described the raid as a "surgical law enforcement operation" in a criminal case first brought six years ago. However, Maduro has described himself as a "prisoner of war" and his capture as a kidnapping.
Prosecutors allege that Maduro conspired to traffic thousands of tonnes of cocaine into the United States by colluding with Venezuelan law enforcement officials to assist drug kingpins.
Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, has said he expects to contest the legality of Maduro’s “military abduction.”
The lawyers have said there are complex legal defenses that the court must address before a trial can begin.
Maduro and Flores have not asked to be released on bail.
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Judge Alvin Hellerstein could confirm a June 2027 trial date for Nicolas Maduro.
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Açık Sorular
- Will Judge Hellerstein confirm the proposed June 2027 trial date?
- Will the legality of Maduro’s “military abduction” be successfully contested?
- What will be the outcome of the complex legal defenses raised by Maduro's lawyers?
