Nicolás Maduro’s son said that he trusts the U.S. legal system even as he called the case against his father tainted by what he described as an illegal capture. His comments came as Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, returned to federal court in New York for another hearing tied to sweeping U.S. drug trafficking and weapons charges. The hearing focused in part on Maduro’s effort to challenge the case and on disputes over access to Venezuelan state funds for his legal defense.
Maduro and Flores have been in custody in Brooklyn since early January, after U.S. forces captured them in Venezuela and flew them to New York. Both pleaded not guilty at a January 5 hearing. U.S. prosecutors accuse them of narcoterrorism, cocaine importation, and weapons offenses, part of a case that U.S. authorities say is tied to large-scale trafficking networks.
Speaking from Caracas, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, known as Nicolasito, said he hopes the charges will be thrown out but called that outcome unlikely. At the same time, he said he expects the proceedings to continue under U.S. law and that his father should be allowed to defend himself fully. He was quoted as saying the process still bears “traces of illegitimacy” because it began with what he called a kidnapping.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that Maduro could face additional charges beyond the current case. The judge signaled he was not inclined to dismiss the prosecution outright, though he raised questions about the U.S. position on Maduro’s access to Venezuelan funds for his defense team. That leaves the case moving forward, even as Maduro’s lawyers continue pressing arguments tied to immunity, the legality of the U.S. operation, and the conditions surrounding his arrest.
In Caracas, supporters of the former Venezuelan leader gathered in Bolívar Square to watch coverage of the court appearance on a giant screen. The scene underscored how the New York case remains tightly bound to Venezuela’s internal power struggle, which deepened after Maduro’s January removal and Delcy Rodríguez’s rise to the presidency. Since then, Washington and Caracas have been navigating a tense new phase marked by political upheaval and U.S. interest in reshaping ties with Venezuela, including on oil.
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