Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is back in court after dramatic U.S. military raid

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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is due back in a New York courtroom Wednesday, where his lawyers are expected to renew their challenge to the U.S. military operation that ousted him from power and brought him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.

Maduro, 63, and his wife, Cilia Flores, 69, have been held at a federal jail in Brooklyn since U.S. forces seized them from their Caracas home during a dramatic overnight raid in early January.

The couple has pleaded not guilty and faces possible life sentences if convicted of conspiring to traffic cocaine into the United States.

A photograph which U.S. President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social account shows what he describes as Venezuelan President “Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima” amphibious assault ship in January 2026 (@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social)

The Trump administration has defended the operation as a “surgical law enforcement operation” tied to a criminal case first filed six years ago. Maduro has denounced the raid as a kidnapping, describing himself as a prisoner of war.

Federal prosecutors allege Maduro conspired with members of Venezuela’s security forces to help drug traffickers move thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States.

“I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country,” Maduro said in Spanish during his January arraignment.

Maduro points to supporters during a campaign rally in the Catia neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, July 18, 2024 (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

His attorney, Barry Pollack, has said the defense will challenge what it calls Maduro’s “military abduction,” arguing the unprecedented operation raises significant legal issues that must be resolved before any trial can begin.

Neither Maduro nor Flores has sought bail. U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein has not yet set a trial date.