Ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, wife seek to end drug charges case on immunity grounds
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife have filed a motion to dismiss U.S. drug trafficking charges, citing sovereign immunity as a sitting head of state. The couple has been held in a New York jail since being apprehended in Caracas earlier this year.
Why it matters
The case tests the limits of international law and the application of U.S. criminal jurisdiction over foreign heads of state.
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife asked a judge on Wednesday (September 2, 2026) to dismiss the drug trafficking indictment against them on the grounds that they have immunity as the leader and first lady of a foreign country.
In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, lawyers for Mr. Maduro said a judge was required by law to reject the indictment because it cannot be brought against a foreign leader.
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