Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has asked a judge in New York to throw out a criminal case against him, arguing that he is immune to prosecution in the U.S. as the head of a sovereign country. His lawyers contend that the judge is required by law to reject the indictment because it cannot be brought against a foreign leader.
Maduro has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges and has described the legal proceedings as an unlawful effort to prosecute a foreign head of state. If his efforts to dismiss the case are unsuccessful, he is scheduled to go on trial on June 1, 2027.
Having been abducted by U.S. forces during a military attack on Caracas in January, Maduro has called himself a prisoner of war and described his capture as a kidnapping. He has requested that all charges against him and his wife be dropped based on diplomatic immunity, as his attorneys argue that only Venezuelan courts have the right to prosecute them.