Accusation against Maduro and Cilia comes into play this Monday (5) in New York

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, will be taken this Monday (5) to a Manhattan federal court for their first judicial hearing after being kidnapped in a United States military operation and forcibly removed from the country.

The session marks the beginning of the process opened by the Donald Trump government in the North American courts, part of a strategy to instrumentalize the Judiciary to legitimize the aggression against Venezuelan sovereignty.

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The hearing is scheduled for 12pm local time (2pm in Brasília), this Monday (5), at the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York, one of the most powerful and influential federal courts in the United States.

The court is responsible for trying federal crimes, charges classified as terrorism, international drug trafficking and cases with high political and economic impact.

The case is being processed in this court since the false accusations made by the United States government are federal and extraterritorial in nature.

The complaint was formalized by the United States Department of Justice, through the Federal Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the body responsible for carrying out federal criminal charges in that jurisdiction.

In the United States, this office acts as an arm of the Department of Justice in federal courts, and its prosecutors are responsible for filing complaints, conducting investigations and representing the government in criminal proceedings.

The accusatory piece was made public on Saturday (3) by Attorney General Pam Bondi, head of the Department of Justice in the Donald Trump administration, shortly after the illegal operation by Trump’s armed forces.

According to the document, in addition to Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores, other authorities and individuals linked to the Venezuelan government are also denounced.

In addition to Nicolás Maduro and his wife, the federal complaint filed in the District Court for the Southern District of New York names five other defendants, all identified by name in the process:

• Diosdado Cabello Rondón — Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace of Venezuela, leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and one of the main high-ranking figures in the Venezuelan government.
• Ramon Rodriguez Chacin — former Minister of the Interior and Justice and former governor of the state of Guárico.
• Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro — wife of Nicolás Maduro, former president of the National Assembly and former attorney general of Venezuela.
• Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra — son of the Venezuelan president, deputy of the National Assembly, known as “Nicolasito”.
• Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores — named by the prosecution as leader of the transnational criminal organization Tren de Aragua.

The North American justice theater of lies includes conspiracy to commit narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess these weapons.

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The judge, the prosecutor and the next steps in the process

This Monday’s hearing will be led by federal judge Alvin Hellerstein, a New York federal court judge since 1998, when he was appointed by then-president Bill Clinton.

At 92 years old, Hellerstein is one of the most experienced judges in the North American judicial system and a recurring figure in cases of great political and institutional repercussion.

In recent years, Hellerstein has become known for decisions that imposed limits on initiatives by the Donald Trump administration. However, there is no information on how Hellerstein should act in the case against Maduro and Cilia.

In 2023 and 2024, the judge denied the then-former president’s requests to transfer to federal court the criminal case known as hush money, in which Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to hide the payment of money to a porn actress, during the 2016 presidential campaign.

At the time, Hellerstein fought with Trump by denying the transfer of the case to federal justice, frustrating an attempt at political shielding.

In May 2025, Hellerstein barred the use of the so-called Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century law invoked by the Trump administration to promote summary deportations of Venezuelans.

At the time, the White House claimed that the migration would constitute an “invasion” or “predatory incursion”, an interpretation rejected by the judge.

In September 2025, Hellerstein also blocked attempts by the Trump administration to expel students and pro-Palestinian activists, deeming deportation measures illegal without due process, restricting the use of exceptional powers by the Executive.

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What will the rite be like?

The prosecution of Maduro and Cilia Flores is being handled by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, under the leadership of U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.

At Monday’s hearing, known in the US judicial system as arraignmentdefendants are formally presented to the judge, informed of the charges and read their rights.

Prosecutors usually summarize the elements they say support the accusation, such as recordings, documents and other materials seized, while the defense indicates the resources and requests it intends to present to contest the process. This is not a judgment on the merits.

Hellerstein is expected to address the issue of pre-trial detention and, given the circumstances of the case, there is virtually no expectation that bail will be granted.

The defense may also raise questions about conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where Maduro is in custody.

Federal prison is criticized by judges and human rights organizations.

In the end, the judge must ask the prosecution and defense lawyers how long they consider necessary to prepare for the trial, which could take more than a year for a jury to be formed.

If convicted, according to the US legislation cited by the prosecution, Maduro could face sentences ranging from 30 years in prison to life in prison.

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