Prosecutors and defense jointly filed a pretrial schedule Tuesday, but Judge Hellerstein has yet to approve the timeline
Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores appeared before U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan on Wednesday for a status conference in their narco-terrorism case, a day after prosecutors and defense lawyers jointly proposed a trial start date of June 2027. It is the first time both sides have agreed on any timeline since the pair's capture in January.
The proposal, filed Tuesday night with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office, sets defense motions to dismiss — including a sovereign immunity challenge — due September 2, with oral arguments in November. A second round of pretrial motions would follow January 11, 2027, after prosecutors turn over the bulk of classified evidence by November. Hellerstein has not formally adopted the schedule; both sides reserved the right to seek adjustments, and prosecutors flagged that classified-evidence disputes could shift the calendar.
No bail request, detention unchallenged
Wednesday marked another public court appearance for Maduro and Flores since their January capture. A motorcade of law enforcement vehicles departed Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, where both have been held without bail, ahead of the hearing. Neither side has requested release; detention has not been contested at any of the prior sessions, including the March 26 hearing over sanctions-blocked legal fees.
Both defendants have pleaded not guilty to narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation, drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons charges. Prosecutors allege Maduro and Flores used Venezuelan state institutions to shield traffickers while conspiring with the FARC to move thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States. Conviction on the top counts carries a potential life sentence.
The funding fight that once threatened to derail the case is resolved: after OFAC issued a license in April permitting Venezuela to pay Maduro's legal fees, lead defense attorney Barry Pollack withdrew the dismissal motion built on Sixth Amendment grounds. He has since redirected toward jurisdiction and immunity.
Observers are reading: How the 1922 treaty's arbitration clause could halt the case before trial ever begins.
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What the schedule signals — and doesn't
Whether Hellerstein locks in the June 2027 date or defers, a trial remains at minimum eleven months away, and conditional on resolving classified-evidence disputes. The proceeding unfolds alongside mounting civil exposure for the Maduro network, including a $314 million default judgment issued by a Florida court on July 14. For now, Wednesday's hearing produced a proposed calendar, not a resolved case — the jurisdictional questions that could unravel it remain unaddressed.
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