Ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and wife seek to end drug charges case on immunity grounds

Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, sought a judge's ruling on Wednesday to dismiss the drug trafficking indictment against them. They argued they are immune from prosecution as the leader and first lady of a foreign nation. In Manhattan federal court, their lawyers cited a long-standing rule that heads of state cannot be tried by any court outside their own.

The couple, detained in a New York jail since January, are set to face trial on drug trafficking charges in June. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein is scheduled to hear arguments on the dismissal motions on November 17. Maduro's lawyers also cited conduct-based sovereign immunity, asserting their client is innocent and falsely accused.

Prosecutors have defended the raid as a "surgical law enforcement operation," while Maduro has termed himself a prisoner of war and the capture a kidnapping. Federal prosecutors allege that Maduro orchestrated a scheme to smuggle thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States with the help of Venezuelan law enforcement.