Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has returned to a New York courtroom as he seeks to have his drug trafficking indictment thrown out over a geopolitical dispute over legal fees.
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Read full article: Armed man fatally shot by Castle Hills police officer identified, DPS says The newest Blue Bell ice cream flavor combines two popular baked deserts in half gallon and pint sized containers for a limited time.Demonstrators protest outside Manhattan federal court before a pre-trial hearing in former Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro's drug trafficking case, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in New York. File - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks to supporters during an event at the Miraflores Presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Feb. 4, 2024. Demonstrators protest outside Manhattan federal court before a pre-trial hearing in former Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro's drug trafficking case, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in New York. and declared: “I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.” Flores has also pleaded not guilty.Both remain jailed at a detention center in Brooklyn, and neither has asked to be released on bail. Judge Alvin Hellerstein has yet to set a trial date.A few minutes after leaving the courthouse, the motorcade had returned Maduro and his wife to the detention center on the Brooklyn waterfront where they have been held since arriving in the United States.Shortly after Thursday’s hearing ended, a long motorcade of law enforcement vehicles could be seen leaving the courthouse complex, then heading in the direction of Brooklyn.Maduro’s status as presidentIn the hours after the Jan. 3 operation, the country’s high court declared his absence “temporary,” effectively eliminating the need for a speedy election and keeping the protections the office grants him under international law. The court ordered Delcy Rodríguez to take office for up to 90 days with the possibility of extending that to six months if approved by the National Assembly. The high court and the National Assembly are controlled by the ruling party, and Rodríguez’s brother presides over the National Assembly.Maduro shook hands with his lawyer and translator and waved to Flores’ lawyer as he was led out by officers with the U.S. Marshals Service. As he left the defense table, he told his lawyer, “Hasta mañana,” which is Spanish for, “See you tomorrow.”Judge says he won’t decide funding for Maduro’s defense today The judge didn’t say exactly when he would decide whether Maduro can use funds from the Venezuelan government for his defense.What happens if the judge lets Maduro use Venezuelan government funds?They discussed whether the judge legally could order the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control to grant a license that would effectively release the money.Maduro’s lawyer said the solution is simply to throw out the case.Maduro’s own financial situation is key to whether he qualifies for public defenders Because of that, the judge asked prosecutors what they’ve found out about whether Maduro has the money to pay for his own defense.Wirshba also argued that public defenders and court-appointed lawyers in New York have handled other far-flung cases and could manage Maduro’s. The judge said he has all respect for those attorneys’ ability, but “this is a case that is beyond the normal and could hamper their ability to do their normal work.”Prosecutor Kyle Wirshba cast it as an issue of the U.S. government’s ability to use sanctions to advance national security and foreign policy interests. But Judge Alvin Hellerstein pressed him on why that argument holds now that U.S. and Venezuelan relations have warmed somewhat. “We are doing business with Venezuela,” he noted. Wirshba responded that “simply because there are relations with another government” doesn’t mean Washington can’t maintain its sanctions. “If the purpose of the sanctions is because the defendants are plundering the wealth of Venezuela, it would undermine the sanctions to allow them access the same funds now to pay for their defense,” the prosecutor told the judge. He added that Maduro and Flores can use their own money for their defense. Maduro has said he doesn’t have the money to do so.Maduro’s attorney is arguing that if the former Venezuelan president gets public defenders, that would sap legal resources that are meant for people who can’t afford their own attorneys. Pollack is telling the judge that doesn’t make sense in “a case where you have someone other than the U.S. taxpayer standing ready, willing and able to fund that defense.”Maduro lawyer Barry Pollack is making complex legal arguments for why the U.S. should let Maduro access Venezuelan government funds to pay for his defense.Maduro, in a jail uniform, is seated between his attorneys at a defense table. He glanced at his wife, who is sitting between her own attorneys to the right of him and his attorneys. She’s also in a jail uniform.Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been brought into a New York courtroom as he seeks to have his drug trafficking indictment thrown outand declared: “I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.” Flores has also pleaded not guilty.Some supporters of Maduro’s party hesitate to say whether he should return as president In Caracas, Eduardo Cubillan condemned the violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty during the Jan. 3 operation. But the 80-year-old retiree hesitated to say whether he would like Maduro to return as president. While Maduro’s ruling party remains in power, he has slowly been erased from the government of Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president. Cubillan’s hesitation reflected a dilemma that many ruling party supporters face as they see Rodríguez reach agreements with the U.S. that could bring economic improvements. “We hope that in the United States, if justice truly exists, a trial will be held that will lead to President Maduro’s freedom, because this kidnapping violated international legal principles, and we want justice to be served,” Cubillan said.During his Cabinet meeting, President Trump accused Maduro of being a “major purveyor of drugs coming into our country.” Trump said Maduro would be given “a fair trial. But I would imagine there are other trials coming.” He didn’t provide details, but suggested the current charges Maduro is facing might be “a fraction of the kind of things that he’s done.”Protesters and supporters are still gathering. They’re chanting, blowing horns and beating drums and cowbells.On the other side of a metal barrier, people wave signs saying, “Free President Maduro.”The officer prefaced Thursday’s hearing with a warning to spectators to stay quiet and seated while the former Venezuelan president is in the courtroom. People who speak out will be removed and could face legal consequences, he said. The officer acknowledged, “This may be a sensitive case for some of you” and added, “you’re in a federal courthouse. Please respect the institution and what it stands for.”In Caracas, many attendees wore the uniform of their state agency employer, took selfies to report to managers their participation at the event and waved Venezuelan flags as a group played regional music. A screen behind the stage showed a photo of the couple taken during Maduro’s January 2025 swearing in ceremony and the phrase “83 days have gone by since their kidnapping.”In Venezuela’s capital, a couple hundred people, among them ruling party supporters, state employees and civilian militia members, gathered at a public plaza Thursday morning, planning to pray for Maduro and Flores and to watch the couple’s hearing, unaware that U.S. federal courts do not allow cameras. A large screen mixed footage of Maduro, the Venezuelan flag and the country’s recent World Baseball Classic championship win. “We are going to see him today,” ruling party leader Carmen Melendez told the crowd. “We may see him skinnier. … But that’s our president.”A group of demonstrators held Venezuela flags and signs saying “Free President Maduro.” They also shouted “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air. U.S. out of everywhere,” denouncing U.S. military actions abroad.Signs indicated some of the protesters were affiliated with the Workers World Party, which describes itself as a revolutionary socialist party.The last time Maduro appeared at the courthouse, he was brought there in spectacular fashion. A helicopter flew him from Brooklyn to a heliport in Manhattan, where a motorcade of law enforcement vehicles whisked him to the courthouse in just a few minutes. The city’s multiple local and federal law enforcement agencies have made an art form out of transporting important people through streets that are often choked with traffic. When Trump was on trial at a courthouse in the same Lower Manhattan neighborhood in 2024, police made sure his Secret Service motorcade also had an unobstructed and traffic-free path to the courthouse.The judge presiding over Maduro’s case is 92 years old. A native New Yorker, Alvin K. Hellerstein was nominated to the court by President Bill Clinton in 1998. He’s not the oldest judge on the federal bench in New York. That honor belongs to Judge Louis L. Stanton, who is 98. Hellerstein has handled many other big cases. For nearly 25 years, he has also presided over civil litigation resulting from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York.Legal issues surrounding the drug trafficking case against Maduro are expected to be complex, but they are unlikely to surface in a prolonged way at Thursday’s hearing. The main subject of the court appearance involves how to pay his lawyers. Because of U.S. sanctions, the legal team can’t simply accept a check from Venezuela’s government. They need permission from the U.S. government. But U.S. authorities don’t want to grant it. They say Maduro can pay for his defense himself.The indictment against Maduro accuses him of carrying out a wide-ranging conspiracy to traffic illegal drugs into the U.S. for more than a quarter century. It says he cleared the way for thousands of tons of cocaine to enter the United States by teaming up at times with Venezuelan law enforcement to aid drug kingpins. Maduro says he’s innocent. His supporters say that the U.S. military seized Maduro because U.S. President Donald Trump wanted regime change in Venezuela. Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Family reacts to guilty verdict in Christopher Preciado trialCastle Hills police department says the armed suspect shot this morning has diedRecords show New Braunfels ISD pulling, restricting more books than it has publicly listed74 year old woman hit crossing South General McMullenNew emissions test could cost Bexar County vehicle ownersSan Antonio attorney admits stealing over half a million dollars from children's inheritance.Spurs respond after viral video at game sparks backlashReuniting items found along the Guadalupe River after the deadly floodsMan dies by suicide in police custody
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