Venezuela's ousted leader Maduro back in US court

Venezuela’s ousted president Nicolas Maduro is set to appear before a New York court Wednesday, his third public hearing since the US military captured him in a stunning nighttime raid in January.

The former leader, 63, and wife Cilia Flores have been held in a Brooklyn jail since the US military operation, awaiting trial on drug trafficking, firearms and other charges.

American commandos snatched the pair from their compound in Caracas on January 3. The lightning operation combined naval, air and ground forces, deposing the strongman who had led Venezuela since 2013.

In a court filing late Tuesday, prosecutors and defense lawyers proposed a June 2027 trial date, which Judge Alvin Hellerstein could confirm at the Wednesday hearing focused on procedural matters.

The United States in April allowed Venezuela to pay for Maduro’s and Flores’s legal defense, something previously barred by US sanctions.

The couple had sought to have their cases dismissed on grounds that blocking the funding violated the US Constitution’s right to counsel of one’s choice.

Maduro has declared himself a “prisoner of war” and pleaded not guilty to the four counts he faces: “narco-terrorism” conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

Venezuela is now led by Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, while the United States effectively controls the country’s oil exports, with proceeds going into special accounts overseen by Washington.