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Key Points
- Nicolás Maduro has pleaded not guilty to a range of criminal drug charges in New York.
- The US government’s evidence against him has yet to be unveiled.
- The deposed Venezuelan president is being represented by Julian Assange’s former lawyer.
Nicolás Maduro, the ousted Venezuelan president, finds himself embroiled in a legal storm, facing serious charges primarily linked to drug trafficking. His wife, Cilia Flores, is also under the legal microscope, with both accused of orchestrating a web of illicit activities that have captured international attention.
Flores stands accused of orchestrating kidnappings, committing murders, and accepting bribes back in 2007. These bribes allegedly facilitated a meeting between drug traffickers and Néstor Reverol, then at the helm of Venezuela’s National Anti-Drug Office. Such allegations paint a grim picture of corruption reaching the upper echelons of Venezuelan leadership.
The prosecution’s case could be bolstered by testimonies from former Venezuelan officials now serving time in U.S. prisons. Notable among them is Hugo Carvajal Barrios, formerly the chief of Venezuelan military intelligence, who confessed to narco-terrorism in 2025. Similarly, Cliver Alcalá Cordones, a former general, was handed a 260-month sentence in 2024 for supporting the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, an organization designated as a terrorist group by the U.S.
Amidst these allegations, Nicolás Maduro has staunchly maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty to a four-count indictment. The charges accuse him of spearheading a conspiracy to channel cocaine into the United States, involving alliances with armed guerrilla factions, drug syndicates, and global criminal networks. The case against Maduro is complex, with the potential to unravel years of alleged criminal collaboration that reaches beyond Venezuela’s borders.
How strong is the case against Maduro?
The prosecution could call, as witnesses, former senior Venezuelan officials currently in US jails — Hugo Carvajal Barrios, a former Venezuelan military intelligence chief, who admitted to narco-terrorism charges in 2025. Another could be Cliver Alcalá Cordones, a former Venezuelan general who was sentenced to 260 months in prison for providing material support to the US-designated Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in 2024.
Nicolás Maduro pleaded not guilty to a four-count indictment accusing him of leading a conspiracy to funnel cocaine into the United States, including by working with armed guerrilla groups, drug cartels and international gangs. Source: AAP / AP / Elizabeth Williams
Markus Wagner, an expert on US constitution law at the University of Wollongong, said the evidence in those cases could be used in the Maduro trial.
He said it’s unclear what evidence US prosecutors have against Maduro, on how they allege the Venezuelan leader facilitated both the transportation of drugs and the growth of narco-terrorist groups.
“But that’s not a crime. They’ve alleged that he facilitated it, that he was involved in it, and that’s a whole different story.”
“I think they’re going to have a heck of a time getting admissible evidence against him, and … they could end up very sorry that they brought him back to New York for trial, because it could turn into a humiliation for the government,” he said.
How will Maduro defend himself?
But that’s complicated by a historic precedent: a US court’s rejecting an immunity argument from then-Panama leader Manuel Noriega, who, like Maduro, was accused of conspiring to smuggle drugs into the US and was captured in a US military raid in 1990.
Maduro could also argue on procedural grounds, including the legality of the manner in which he was brought before the court: his capture by US forces.
“It gives sort of carte blanche to US governments to abduct someone, and as long as they can capture that person, courts will not stand in the way.”
