Captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, wife Cilia Flores face New York court hearing
Captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are returning to federal court in New York City Thursday following their arraignments in January. Both have pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and weapons charges.
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Judge at Maduro hearing says ‘I'm not going to dismiss the case’
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s federal court appearance Thursday in New York City, said in court that “I’m not going to dismiss the case.”
The remark came during a discussion over the right to counsel. Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking and weapons charges.
In a recent letter to Hellerstein, Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, said the U.S. was preventing the Venezuelan government from covering his client's legal fees.
Pollack said that Maduro and the Venezuelan government were subjected to sanctions by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and his legal counsel would need to be granted a license to represent him and be paid.
While Pollack said OFAC granted licenses for both Maduro and Flores on Jan. 9, Maduro's license was amended "without explanation" to not allow the Venezuelan government to pay for his defense costs. Pollack said that OFAC is "interfering with Mr. Maduro’s ability to retain counsel" and violating his Sixth Amendment right to counsel of his choice.
In court on Thursday, Maduro’s attorneys argued that he has the right to counsel of his choice and that, in this case, the U.S. government has not meaningfully shown why Venezuela should not cover the legal fees for him and his wife, Cilia Flores.
As part of its arguments, the U.S. government said the sanctions were imposed because Maduro and his wife were plundering Venezuela’s wealth, and it does not want to give them access to those resources.
The U.S. government added that although the funds would support the defense, they are being blocked based on policy and national security concerns.
The judge then indicated he feared they may be interfering with the ability for Maduro and Flores to defend themselves.
At that point, the defense said that the only remedy is to dismiss the case, to which the judge immediately responded, "I'm not going to dismiss the case."
Fox News' Brendan McDonald and Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.
Maduro returns to Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro returned to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn following his federal court appearance in Manhattan on Thursday, the New York City Police Department confirmed.
Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured during a U.S. military operation in Venezuela on Jan. 3, 2026.
Their arraignment took place on Jan. 5, 2026, at the federal courthouse in Manhattan, where they pleaded not guilty.
Nicolás Maduro faces four charges: Narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine-guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine-guns and destructive devices.
Cilia Flores faces three charges: Cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine-guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine-guns and destructive devices.
Maduro court appearance ends without next date set, judge vows to decide schedule later on
A federal court appearance by former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores ended on Thursday without a future court date being set.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said he would not set the date today and instead would decide one when appropriate.
The former Venezuelan president and his wife are fighting federal drug trafficking and weapons charges in New York.
Fox News' Brendan McDonald contributed to this report.
Maduro and his wife have arrived in federal court
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife have arrived Thursday in federal court in Manhattan.
Maduro was seen wearing beige prison clothes with headphones for his translator, while his wife is wearing the same.
This is the pair’s first court appearance following their arraignments on Jan. 5, when they pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking and weapons charges.
Fox News' Brendan McDonald contributed to this report.
Trump suggests ‘other trials’ are coming for Maduro
President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that “other trials” could be coming for former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
"We did the situation in Venezuela. It was a great military operation, getting a very, very dangerous man who's killed a lot of people, forced people into our country,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
"He emptied his prisons in Venezuela, emptied his prisons into our country. And I hope that charge will be brought at some point, because that was a big charge that hasn't been brought yet. It should be brought. He emptied his prisons into our country and was a major purveyor of drugs coming into our country. And he's now been captured and you know, I guess being given a fair trial,” Trump continued.
“But I would imagine there are other trials coming because they have just -- they've really sued him just in a fraction of the kind of things that he's done. Other cases are going to be brought, as you probably know,” the president added.
Protesters gather in Manhattan ahead of Maduro federal court appearance
A group of protesters were seen gathered on Thursday outside the Manhattan Federal Courthouse in New York City, holding "Free President Maduro" signs ahead of Nicolás Maduro’s upcoming appearance.
The demonstrators, who included a man holding a large Maduro puppet, were chanting against sanctions and U.S. government involvement in other countries.
The group of protesters grew to about 70 people, and the police barricaded them into a closed area across the street from the courthouse.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured during a U.S. military operation in Venezuela on Jan. 3.
Fox News’ Danielle Cavaliere contributed to this report.
Venezuela’s Maduro, wife Cilia Flores set to return to federal court in NYC
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are expected to return to federal court in Manhattan around 11 a.m. ET Thursday for a status conference.
This is the pair’s first court appearance following their arraignments on Jan. 5, when they pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking and weapons charges.
Maduro has been charged with four counts: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine-guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine-guns and destructive devices.
His wife has been charged with three counts: cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine-guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine-guns and destructive devices. They face decades in prison if convicted.
Both were captured during a U.S. military operation in Venezuela on Jan. 3.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
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