Follow-Up: Maduro and Wife File Renewed Sovereign-Immunity Motions to Dismiss All Charges; Prosecution to Respond by Nov. 30, Hearing Set for Dec. 17
Lawyers for former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, filed renewed sovereign-immunity motions in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on November 9-10, asking Judge Analisa Torres to dismiss all charges against them. The filings answer the prosecution's expanded indictment of October 15, and a hearing on the immunity fight is set for December 17.
Maduro's motion argues that the alleged conduct was tied to his official positions and state powers, so he is protected by both status-based and conduct-based head-of-state immunity, that the court lacks jurisdiction, and that the narco-terrorism and related charges should be dismissed with prejudice. A separate motion for Flores, filed by attorney Andrés Sánchez, adds a new argument: if Washington acknowledges Delcy Rodríguez's government as Venezuela's authority, then by the same logic Maduro retains the presidency and the immunity that comes with it. The couple also filed a joint motion challenging the court's jurisdiction over the added conspiracy-to-commit-torture charge.
The motions respond to the October 15 expansion of the case, in which prosecutors accused Maduro and Flores of conspiring to torture American citizens, including former Marine Matthew Heath and Osman Khan, in Venezuelan intelligence facilities, and added a narcoterrorism conspiracy count against Flores. Both pleaded not guilty to the new charges on October 16. The defense had filed a first round of immunity motions on September 2.
Prosecutors maintain that the United States stopped recognizing Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate president in 2019 and that he cannot claim sovereign immunity. The prosecution must file its formal response by November 30. If the motions are denied, trial is scheduled for June 14, 2027.
Related: Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein, Who Presided Over the Maduro Case, Dies at 92
Source: EFE
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于纽约曼哈顿的 Moynihan 联邦法院大楼（资料图）。图：giggel，CC BY 3.0，经维基共享资源 / The Moynihan U.S. Courthouse in Manhattan, New York (file photo). Photo by giggel, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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- 2026-11-10Follow-Up: Maduro and Wife File Renewed Sovereign-Immunity Motions to Dismiss All Charges; Prosecution to Respond by Nov. 30, Hearing Set for Dec. 17This story
