US trial of Venezuela's Maduro set for June 2027

NEW YORK (AFP)

Venezuela's ousted president Nicolas Maduro and his wife will go on trial in the United States in June 2027, a court ruled Wednesday, after the US military captured them in a nighttime raid in January.

The former leader, 63, and wife Cilia Flores have been held in a Brooklyn jail for more than seven months after pleading not guilty to federal drug trafficking and firearms charges.

American commandos snatched the pair from their compound in Caracas on January 3. The lightning operation combined naval, air and ground forces, deposing the president who had led Venezuela since 2013.

During a roughly 20-minute hearing, Judge Alvin Hellerstein set the trial date for June 1 next year following a joint request from prosecutors and defence counsel.

Maduro has denied the four counts he faces: "narco-terrorism" conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns, and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

Since Maduro's capture, Venezuela has been led by his former vice president and close ally, Delcy Rodriguez, while the United States effectively controls the country's oil exports, with proceeds going into special accounts overseen by Washington.

The United States in April allowed Venezuela to pay for Maduro's and Flores's legal defence, something previously barred by US sanctions.

Maduro also faces a civil case in the United States after the families of five young men slain in Venezuela alleged that he ordered the killings.