Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, filed a motion Wednesday asking a federal judge in New York to throw out the drug trafficking charges against them, claiming Maduro is protected by sovereign immunity as Venezuela’s head of state.
Maduro’s lawyers argue that no American court has ever tried a foreign leader recognized by his own country as a sitting head of state, and that this isn’t a coincidence — it’s a legal principle older than U.S. common law.
“That immunity flows not from goodwill that can be withdrawn on a whim, but from the perfect equality and absolute independence of sovereigns. Thus, this Court lacks jurisdiction with respect to Mr. Maduro, who is recognized by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as its head of state.”
The case stems from a fourth superseding indictment unsealed in January 2026 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. It charges Maduro with narco-terrorism conspiracy, and both Maduro and Flores with cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess those weapons.
Prosecutors allege Maduro spent decades — first as a National Assembly deputy, then as president — conspiring with narco-terrorists tied to major cartels to funnel cocaine into the United States.
His defense team says the actions cited in the indictment, including issuing diplomatic passports, deploying the military, and announcing foreign policy, were official acts of a head of state, not criminal conduct a U.S. court can second-guess.
“The official character of these acts… is apparent from the face of the Indictment. Because these actions were undertaken in his official capacity on behalf of a foreign sovereign, he may not be required to respond in this Court to the Indictment’s characterizations of his motives and intent in taking these actions.”
Worth noting: the U.S. government has considered Maduro an illegitimate president since 2019, after he claimed victory in the disputed 2018 election.
Beyond the immunity claim, Maduro’s lawyers argue the indictment violates due process. Court filings state that Maduro “vehemently denies that he had anything to do with drug trafficking or intended to benefit anyone engaged in terrorism.”
The defense also contends prosecutors failed to show his alleged crimes occurred in or were aimed at the United States — a requirement they say is baked into the narco-terrorism statute itself.
“The narcoterrorism statute, which was enacted in 2006 in connection with the reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT ACT, was intended to target foreign conduct… Ignoring those parameters set by Congress, the Indictment fails — even by tracking the statutory language — to allege any basis for jurisdiction over the solely foreign conduct it alleges.”
Maduro and Flores were captured by U.S. forces in Caracas in January during a military operation called Operation Absolute Resolve, then extradited to New York to face prosecution.
Maduro is scheduled to appear in court in November for oral arguments on the motion to dismiss.
