Maduro Seeks Dismissal of US Drug Trafficking Charges, Citing Sovereign Immunity

Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, who was seized by U. S. forces on January 3 and has been held in a Brooklyn federal jail, asked a Manhattan judge to dismiss criminal drug‑trafficking charges filed against him. Maduro argues that, as the head of a sovereign state, he is immune from prosecution. The charges, which were the legal basis for the U. S. raid on Caracas, were filed in a federal court in Manhattan. Maduro has pleaded not guilty and a trial is scheduled for June. The court’s ruling will determine whether the case proceeds to trial or is dismissed, potentially altering the U. S. approach to prosecuting foreign leaders on drug‑trafficking allegations.