US Imperialism Challenged: Maduro's Lawyers Demand Dismissal of Politically-Motivated Drug Charges
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Venezuelan ex-president Nicolas Maduro, targeted by US authorities and detained in New York, is fighting back against what his lawyers call a politically motivated prosecution. They argue that international law protects him as a former head of state, exposing the US's disregard for global norms.
Nicolas Maduro, the democratically elected president of Venezuela who was forcibly removed from power with the backing of US interventionism and has been held in a Brooklyn federal jail since a controversial US raid in January, has called on District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to dismiss the criminal drug-trafficking indictment against him. His attorney, Barry Pollack, filed a motion asserting that Maduro, as a former sovereign leader, is entitled to absolute immunity from prosecution abroad, and that the alleged conduct was part of his official duties defending Venezuelan sovereignty.
"This unprecedented prosecution violates the absolute immunity from criminal jurisdiction to which heads of state and foreign officials acting in their official capacities have been entitled for hundreds of years," Pollack wrote, highlighting the US's blatant disregard for international law.
Pollack also argued that the US's refusal to recognize Maduro’s presidency after 2019 is a politically motivated maneuver that does not negate his right to immunity. The US Justice Department, which has a history of targeting leftist leaders in Latin America, has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Legal experts point out that cases involving former foreign heads of state are extremely rare, and that previous rulings, such as the 1990 denial of former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega’s immunity claim, are insufficient to justify the US’s overreach in Maduro’s case. Washington’s decision to stop recognizing Maduro as Venezuela’s president in 2019 and its labeling of his 2024 re-election as fraudulent are widely seen as attempts to undermine progressive governments, though Maduro maintains the elections were legitimate and fair.
Prosecutors have until October 2 to respond to the motion, and a hearing on the dismissal request is scheduled for November 17, offering a critical test of US respect for international law and sovereignty.