Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is set to return to a New York courtroom on Thursday, as he moves to have a drug trafficking indictment against him dismissed.
The hearing will mark the first time Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appear in court since their January arraignment, where he protested his abduction by United States military forces and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, remain in custody at a detention centre in Brooklyn and have not requested bail.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein has yet to fix a trial date, though it could be addressed during the upcoming hearing.
Maduro’s lawyer has argued that Washington is violating his constitutional rights by blocking Venezuelan government funds from being used to cover legal expenses.
The case is expected to centre in part on this issue, as the defence seeks dismissal of the indictment.
Despite his detention, Maduro continues to command some support in Venezuela, with murals and billboards in Caracas calling for his return.
However, he has been increasingly sidelined within the government led by acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who has removed key allies, including his defence minister and attorney general, and reshaped state institutions.
US prosecutors have accused Maduro and several associates of “narco-terrorism” and conspiring to traffic cocaine into the United States, charges that could carry maximum penalties of life imprisonment.
The statute used in the case was introduced 20 years ago to target drug traffickers linked to activities the US considers terrorism.
Maduro is also accused of leading a conspiracy in which officials facilitated cocaine shipments through Venezuela in collaboration with traffickers, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which Washington designated a terrorist organisation from 1997 to 2021.
He and other indicted officials have denied all allegations, describing the charges as part of an imperialist plot against Venezuela.
