A US court has set a date for the start of the trial of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on June 1, 2027.

This comes more than seven months after their arrest in an operation carried out by US forces in the Venezuelan capital Caracas earlier this year.

Trial of Nicolás Maduro and his wife

Maduro (63) and his wife (69) face federal charges including conspiracy related to drug trafficking, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of firearms and destructive devices, as well as conspiracy to possess them; they have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

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During a hearing that lasted about 20 minutes, Judge Alvin Hellerstein agreed to set the trial date based on a joint request from the prosecution and defense. Concurrently with the hearing, the courthouse area in Manhattan saw gatherings of supporters and opponents of Maduro, with his supporters holding signs demanding his release, while other protesters described him and his wife as 'dictators'.

Prisoner of war

Maduro had described himself as a 'prisoner of war', denying the charges against him. Since his arrest, his former vice president Delcy Rodríguez has been acting president of Venezuela, while the United States has taken oversight of Venezuelan oil export revenues. Washington also allowed Venezuela in April to fund Maduro and his wife's legal defense, after it was previously prohibited under US sanctions.

Deaths in Venezuela

Maduro also faces a civil lawsuit in the United States filed by relatives of five young men killed in Venezuela, accusing him of ordering extrajudicial killings between 2017 and 2020 through a special security force. He also faces widespread international criticism over allegations of using political repression during his rule from 2013 to 2026. Meanwhile, several countries, including the United States, rejected the results of the elections in which he was re-elected in 2018 and 2024.