The defense team for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was forcibly taken to the United States earlier this year, filed a motion on Sep. 2 with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeking to dismiss the fourth superseding indictment against him on grounds of immunity. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein scheduled a hearing on the motion for the morning of Nov. 17, 2026.
Along with the motion, the defense submitted a legal memorandum, a declaration from Pollack, and several attachments, including a Jan. 3, 2026, ruling by the Constitutional Chamber of Venezuela's Supreme Court, a document from the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, and two rulings from Italian courts.
The filing of the motion does not mean the case has been dismissed. Prosecutors will now respond, and the judge will decide whether the defense's immunity claim can stand against the charges brought by the United States.
On Jan. 3, the United States launched a large-scale operation against Venezuela, forcibly taking Maduro and his wife into custody and bringing them to the U.S. On Jan. 5, the couple appeared for the first time in federal court in the Southern District of New York, where they rejected the so-called "criminal" charges against them. The international community has widely condemned the U.S. action as a serious violation of Venezuela's sovereignty and a threat to peace and stability in the Latin American region.
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