Maduro returns to US court to challenge arrest after Caracas raid

Nicolas Maduro returns to a New York court as his lawyers challenge the US raid that brought him from Caracas. The hearing could shape whether the defence can contest the operation before any drug trafficking trial begins.Stock photo used for illustrationVenezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is set to return to court on Wednesday with his lawyers, who are expected to continue challenging the US military action that removed him from power and brought him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.Maduro, 63, and his wife Cilia Flores, 69, have been held in a Brooklyn jail since US forces seized them from their home in Caracas in a late-night raid in early January. Both have pleaded not guilty and could face life sentences if a jury finds that they were part of a conspiracy to send cocaine into the United States.The administration of President Donald Trump has defended the raid as a "surgical law enforcement operation" in a criminal case first filed six years ago. Maduro, however, has described himself as a prisoner of war and said his capture was a kidnapping.US prosecutors have alleged that Maduro was part of a conspiracy to move thousands of tonnes of cocaine into the US by working with Venezuelan law enforcement to help drug kingpins. At his arraignment in January, Maduro said in Spanish, "I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country." Maduro's lawyer Barry Pollack has said he expects to challenge the legality of Maduro's "military abduction". The defence has also said there are complex legal issues that must be addressed before any trial can begin.Neither Maduro nor Flores has sought bail, and Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein has not yet set a trial date. The case will return to court on Wednesday, with the defence expected to press its objections to the operation that brought the couple to New York. With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Jul 22, 2026 09:56 IST