US trial date set for Venezuela's ousted president Maduro

Venezuela's captured president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores appeared in a US court today over drugs trafficking charges.

The judge set a 1June 2027 trial date for Maduro.

The couple were dramatically captured by US Special Forces from their home in Caracas, Venezuela, during a night-time raid on 3 January ordered by US President Donald Trump.

Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, were taken to New York, where both pleaded not guilty to using their leadership positions in the oil-rich South American country to facilitate cocaine shipments.

The charges included narco-terrorism conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.

They could face life prison sentences if a jury agrees they were part of a conspiracy to send thousands of tonnes of cocaine into the US. Prosecutors say Maduro colluded with Venezuelan law enforcement to help drug kingpins.

But he denies the accusation. "I am not guilty," Maduro said in Spanish at his arraignment hearing in January. "I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country."

In a letter to Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein before Wednesday's hearing, prosecutors said lawyers would request a June 2027 trial date, with pretrial motions by defense lawyers to be filed by early September.

Maduro's lawyer, Barry Pollack, had said he expected to use the latest hearing to contest the legality of Maduro's "military abduction". Maduro has called himself a prisoner of war and his capture a kidnapping.

But the Trump administration has defended the raid as a "surgical law enforcement operation" in a criminal case first brought six years ago.

Maduro's lawyers have said there are complex legal defences that the court must address before a trial can begin.
Maduro and Flores had not asked to be released on bail.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.