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US sets June 2027 trial for Venezuela's ex‑president Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein set the trial for former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores to begin on 1 June 2027 in the Southern District of New York. The hearing on 22 July 2026 confirmed the date and scheduled pre‑trial motions for September 2 (defense) and a November 17 hearing on those motions. Both defendants, captured by U.S. forces on 3 January in Caracas and held in a Brooklyn federal detention center, pleaded not guilty to four felony counts for narcoterrorism, cocaine importation and possession of firearms and explosives. Their defense will argue sovereign‑head‑of‑state immunity and contest the legality of their capture. If convicted, each faces a possible life sentence. The courtroom was secured by a large police presence and drew protests from both supporters and opponents of the Venezuelan government.