Venezuela’s Maduro asks U.S. judge to dismiss drug charges, arguing international law gives him ‘absolute immunity’

Nicolás Maduro is facing criminal charges in the United States after U.S. forces captured him in Caracas on January 3. The former Venezuelan president is being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn following the January capture operation. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

U.S. prosecutors charged Maduro and several other Venezuelan officials in 2020, alleging that they were involved in cocaine trafficking and worked with Colombia’s FARC. The allegations are not findings of guilt, and Maduro denies them.

According to Reuters, Maduro’s lawyer Barry Pollack filed a motion on September 2 asking U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to dismiss the indictment. The defense argues that Maduro was protected by head-of-state immunity and that the court therefore lacks jurisdiction over him.

Maduro’s immunity claim faces a difficult test

“This unprecedented prosecution violates the absolute immunity from criminal jurisdiction to which heads of state and foreign officials acting in their official capacities have been entitled for hundreds of years,” Pollack wrote in the motion. He argues that Maduro’s alleged conduct was part of his official duties and therefore protected by immunity.

The United States stopped recognizing Maduro as Venezuela’s president in 2019 after disputing the legitimacy of the 2018 election. Washington also called his 2024 reelection fraudulent, while Maduro has said both elections were fair.

U.S. courts have historically given weight to the executive branch on questions involving recognition of foreign leaders. Six U.S.-based legal experts told Reuters that this history could make Maduro’s immunity argument difficult.

Maduro’s lawyers have also pointed to Delcy Rodriguez, his former vice president, who has led Venezuela since his capture. Pollack argues that the U.S. government’s dealings with Rodriguez are relevant to Maduro’s claim that he was Venezuela’s head of state.

“Unlike in Noriega, the Executive Branch does not dispute that Mr. Maduro was Venezuela’s head of state, but instead merely claims that, after 2019, he did not occupy that position legitimately,” Pollack wrote.

Former Panamanian military leader Manuel Noriega also invoked head-of-state immunity after being brought to the United States to face drug charges. A federal judge in Miami rejected the argument in 1990, noting in part that Noriega had never officially held the title of president.

Maduro’s lawyers are also challenging the circumstances of his capture, while his attorney had previously raised his access to counsel as a separate issue. The defense has raised questions involving the U.S.-Venezuela extradition treaty and international law.

A December 2025 Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel memo concluded that the forcible nature of the operation to capture Maduro would not prevent his prosecution. U.S. courts have also previously held that the manner in which a defendant was brought to the United States does not necessarily prevent prosecution.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has until October 2 to respond to Maduro’s motion to dismiss. Hellerstein has scheduled a hearing on the dismissal request for November 17, and Maduro’s trial is scheduled for June 1, 2027 if the motion is unsuccessful.