The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the legal team of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro have proposed that his trial begin in June 2027, a process in which his wife, Cilia Flores, will also be tried, both imprisoned since the military operation carried out by the U.S. Army in Venezuela in early January.
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Prosecutors for the Southern District of New York have indicated that the schedule has been set with deadlines for this year and the next, in order to have enough time to deliver the evidence they deem appropriate to the defense, according to a Department of Justice document accessed by CNN television.
The proceedings, according to the proposed schedule, would take place between September and March of next year. Thus, prosecutors and lawyers for Maduro and his wife are expected to jointly submit the request to Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is heading the case, at a hearing scheduled for this Wednesday.
The Venezuelan president is accused of narcoterrorism, drug trafficking, and weapons-related offenses, while Flores also faces criminal charges. In their first hearing in January, both rejected the accusations against them, which they consider purely political.
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Maduro and Flores were arrested at their home in Caracas during a U.S. military operation on January 3. Both have since been held in Brooklyn federal prison in New York, awaiting trial.
Following Maduro’s capture, Delcy Rodríguez, who was his vice president until then, has assumed the role of acting president. Rodríguez has criticized the U.S. operation against Maduro but has declared herself willing to initiate a new relationship of cooperation and dialogue with the United States.
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