Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is set to make his first appearance Monday in an American courtroom on the narco-terrorism charges the Trump administration used to justify capturing him and bringing him to New York.

Maduro and his wife are expected to appear at noon before a judge for a brief, but required, legal proceeding that will likely kick off a prolonged legal fight over whether he can be put on trial in the U.S.

His lawyers are expected to contest the legality of his arrest, arguing he is immune from prosecution as a sovereign head of a foreign state. But the U.S. doesn’t recognize him as Venezuela’s legitimate leader.

Maduro, along with his wife, son and three others, is accused of working with drug cartels to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S. They could face life in prison if convicted.

As a defendant in the US legal system, Maduro will have the same rights as anyone else, and this includes the right to a trial by a jury of regular New Yorkers. But he’ll also be nearly - but not quite - unique. Maduro’s lawyers are expected to contest the legality of his arrest, arguing that he’s immune from prosecution as a sovereign head of state.

Who is the judge who’ll be presiding over Maduro’s court appearance?
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein has handled numerous weighty cases in his nearly three decades on the bench, including matters involving Trump, the 9/11 attacks and Sudanese genocide.

Now, the 92-year-old Manhattan jurist is presiding over what could be his biggest case yet. Hellerstein is set to arraign Maduro and Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, at noon Monday, kickstarting a judicial assignment that was on hold for six years as Maduro eluded arrest after U.S. prosecutors first indicted him.

In the meantime, Hellerstein has been presiding over cases involving some of Maduro’s co-defendants.

In April 2024, the judge sentenced retired Venezuelan army general Cliver Alcalá to more than 21 years in prison. On Feb. 23, he’s scheduled to sentence a former Venezuelan spymaster, Retired Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal.

Maduro arrives at courthouse
The trip across Lower Manhattan to the courthouse was swift. The vehicle carrying Maduro backed into a garage in the courthouse complex at around 7:40 am. From there, he will be out of public view until he appears in court, which is expected at around noon.

Extra security measures are in place around the Manhattan courthouse
Bicycle-rack style barricades are lining both sides of the street for several blocks around the main entrance on Worth Street, while police officers on foot and in marked cars patrol the area. 

Behind the courthouse, near where inmates are brought in, Pearl Street is closed to foot traffic.

Inside the courthouse, men in U.S. Marshals Service windbreakers and tactical gear roamed the lobby. Outside, dozens of people are lined up, including reporters and paid line-sitters, looking to get a spot inside the courtroom. Some people have tents, seats and hand warmers to deal with the long wait and bitter cold.

A stand is set up with microphones from various news outlets in anticipation that someone connected to the case will speak.

Across the street, more than a dozen TV crews are set up to broadcast live, while all around, a few citizen journalists deliver their own updates into cell phones via YouTube and TikTok.

Maduro’s arraignment is set for noon before U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein at the federal courthouse in Manhattan.