US judge sets June 1, 2027 trial for Venezuela’s Maduro

A US judge on Wednesday set a June 1, 2027 trial date for captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, according to media reports.

US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein announced the date during the couple’s third court appearance since US special forces captured them in Caracas in January, the New York Post reported.

Maduro and Flores last appeared in court in March, when their lawyers sought to dismiss the case after US sanctions prevented Venezuela from paying their legal fees.

The lawyers later withdrew the motion after the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control allowed the couple to receive Venezuelan funds for their defense.

US authorities brought Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, to the US following a military operation in Venezuela in January. They face charges including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking, with prosecutors alleging they worked with drug cartels to move thousands of tons of cocaine into the US.

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

Maduro and Flores have been held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since their capture.