A New York judge has set a June 2027 trial date for Nicolás Maduro, the former Venezuelan president, and his wife Cilia Flores, following their dramatic capture by US forces earlier this year. Judge Alvin Hellerstein scheduled the proceedings to begin on 1 June 2027, with a pre-trial hearing set for 17 November to address motions from both sides.

Maduro and Flores were seized from their Caracas compound during a nighttime military raid on 3 January and flown to New York to face charges related to weapons and drug trafficking. Both have denied the allegations.

The former president’s attorney, Barry Pollack, signalled that he intends to argue that Maduro is shielded from prosecution by sovereign immunity, a doctrine that protects sitting and former heads of state from legal action in foreign courts.

Wednesday’s hearing drew a packed courtroom, with spectators queueing for hours for a glimpse of the former leader. A court officer instructed the gallery to remain seated and refrain from addressing him, warning that anyone breaching decorum “might have some legal issues of your own,”.

Maduro, dressed in a beige jail uniform and without handcuffs, acknowledged the crowd with a nod as he entered. He and Flores sat quietly wearing translation headphones while their attorneys conferred with the judge. As he was led out, Maduro turned and gave a single wave before being escorted back into custody.

Outside the courthouse, demonstrators divided sharply. Anti-war activists condemned the military operation that led to his capture, with one speaker decrying what they called a “sham trial” and accusing the US of seeking to bring “Venezuela, Latin America, and the Middle East under its thumb,”. Others, draped in Venezuelan flags, voiced support for the prosecution. Wilmer Contreras, 53, who emigrated to the US three decades ago, called Maduro a criminal and said he “absolutely” backed the Trump administration’s decision to capture him. “What they did was something that we were expecting, and waiting for, for a long time. And when that happened, things changed in my country,” he told the BBC.