The trial of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores will begin in June next year in the United States, following their arrest in a US swoop operation in Caracas at the beginning of the year.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein set the trial date for June 1 next year.

The couple has been detained in Brooklyn prison for more than seven months, where Maduro faces four federal charges related to drug trafficking and terrorism, while his wife faces three charges, with both maintaining their innocence.

During a brief hearing, Judge Alvin Hellerstein set the trial date for June 1 next year, in addition to a hearing on November 17 to consider defense motions, including challenges to the legality of the arrest operation.

Maduro also faces a civil lawsuit accusing him of ordering extrajudicial killings of young people between 2017 and 2020 through a special security unit, as part of widespread violations attributed to his government during his rule between 2013 and 2026.