Nicolás Maduro heads back to a US court, fighting charges as Venezuela moves on without him

Nicolás Maduro heads back to a US court, fighting charges as Venezuela moves on without him 1 of 8 | Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is due in court on Thursday as the ex-president has slowly been erased from President Delcy Rodríguez’s government, even as the ruling party has remained the same. 2 of 8 | Maduro’s lawyer contends that the U.S. is violating the deposed leader’s constitutional rights by blocking Venezuelan government funds from being used to pay his legal costs. It’s the first time that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, will be in court since a January arraignment at which he protested their capture by U.S. military forces. 3 of 8 | Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is due in court as he seeks to have his drug trafficking indictment thrown out over a geopolitical dispute over legal fees. (AP video by Ted Shaffrey) 4 of 8 | Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro speaks to supporters during an event at the Miraflores Presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Feb. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix,File) 5 of 8 | Demonstrators protest outside Manhattan federal court before a pre-trial hearing in former Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s drug trafficking case, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) 6 of 8 | Demonstrators protest outside Manhattan federal court before a pre-trial hearing in former Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s drug trafficking case, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) 7 of 8 | Members of the media set up across the street from Manhattan federal court in preparation for a pre-trial hearing in former Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s drug trafficking case, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) 8 of 8 | Demonstrators protest outside Manhattan federal court before a pre-trial hearing in former Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s drug trafficking case, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) 1 of 8 Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is due in court on Thursday as the ex-president has slowly been erased from President Delcy Rodríguez’s government, even as the ruling party has remained the same. Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 2 of 8 Maduro’s lawyer contends that the U.S. is violating the deposed leader’s constitutional rights by blocking Venezuelan government funds from being used to pay his legal costs. It’s the first time that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, will be in court since a January arraignment at which he protested their capture by U.S. military forces. Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 3 of 8 Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is due in court as he seeks to have his drug trafficking indictment thrown out over a geopolitical dispute over legal fees. (AP video by Ted Shaffrey) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 4 of 8 Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro speaks to supporters during an event at the Miraflores Presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Feb. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix,File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 5 of 8 Demonstrators protest outside Manhattan federal court before a pre-trial hearing in former Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s drug trafficking case, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 6 of 8 Demonstrators protest outside Manhattan federal court before a pre-trial hearing in former Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s drug trafficking case, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 7 of 8 Members of the media set up across the street from Manhattan federal court in preparation for a pre-trial hearing in former Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s drug trafficking case, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 8 of 8 Demonstrators protest outside Manhattan federal court before a pre-trial hearing in former Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s drug trafficking case, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] New York (AP) — Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro returns to a New York courtroom Thursday as he seeks to have his drug trafficking indictment thrown out over a geopolitical dispute over legal fees. Maduro’s lawyer contends the U.S. is violating the deposed leader’s constitutional rights by blocking Venezuelan government funds from being used to pay his legal costs. It’s the first time Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, will be in court since a January arraignment at which he protested their capture by U.S. military forces and declared: “I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.” Flores has also pleaded not guilty.Both remain jailed at a Brooklyn detention center, and neither has asked to be released on bail. Judge Alvin Hellerstein has yet to set a trial date, though that could happen at the hearing. Before the hearing, small groups of protesters gathered outside the courthouse to rally both in favor of and against Maduro. The pro-Maduro crowd was larger, holding Venezuelan flags and signs reading “Free President Maduro” while leaders directed chants using a megaphone. A line to enter the courthouse began Wednesday afternoon, with some news organizations paying people hundreds of dollars to hold spots for reporters who would arrive later Thursday morning when the courthouse opened. Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, continue to enjoy some support in Venezuela, with murals and billboards across the capital, Caracas, demanding their return. While Maduro’s ruling party remains in power, he has slowly been erased from the government of Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president. Rodríguez has replaced senior officials including Maduro’s faithful defense minister and attorney general, reorganized agencies, appointed ambassadors and eliminated tenets of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled Venezuela for more than two decades. She has even shaken up state television, which had been dominated by Maduro’s hourslong evening appearances. Rodríguez favors much shorter appearances without the musical acts to which her predecessor often danced.In Caracas Thursday morning, a couple hundred people gathered at a public plaza including ruling party supporters, state employees and civilian militia members. They planned to watch the court hearing, unaware that U.S. federal courts do not allow cameras. A large screen mixed footage of Maduro, the Venezuelan flag and the country’s recent World Baseball Classic championship win.“We are going to see him today,” ruling part leader Carmen Melendez told the crowd. “We may see him skinnier … but that’s our president.”Venezuela has also reestablished diplomatic relations with the U.S., which in 2019 cut ties with Maduro’s government and recognized the then-head of the National Assembly, a member of the opposition, as the country’s legitimate leader. The U.S. has eased economic sanctions on Venezuela’s crucial oil industry and also dispatched a chargé d’affaires to Caracas. But even that may not spare Maduro and Flores from having to foot their own legal bills.In a court filing last month, Maduro lawyer Barry Pollack said the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers sanctions, flip-flopped on a decision to let Venezuela pay for his legal fees.The office approved the arrangement Jan. 9, Pollack said, but then rescinded it without explanation less than three hours later.In a written declaration filed with the court, Maduro argued that he is “entitled to have the government of Venezuela pay for my legal defense.”Prosecutors responded that the U.S. government had authorized Maduro and Flores to use personal funds to pay their legal fees but would not let them do so from a fund controlled by a sanctioned government.Maduro said in his declaration that he is unable to afford his defense. To qualify for a lawyer at U.S. taxpayer expense, he would have to show he is too poor to pay for it.Maduro and Flores were seized Jan. 3 in a middle-of-the-night raid on their Caracas home. A 25-page indictment accused him and others of working with drug cartels and members of the military to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tons of cocaine into the U.S.Maduro and his wife are accused of ordering kidnappings, beatings and murders of those who owed them drug money or undermined their trafficking operation. That included the killing of a drug boss in Caracas, the indictment said. If convicted, they face life in prison.Post-Maduro, everyday life for most Venezuelans remains the same.Many public sector employees earn just about $160 per month, while the average private sector worker makes about $237. Last year the annual inflation rate soared to 475%, according to Venezuela’s central bank, putting the cost of food and other essentials beyond the reach of many. ___Garcia Cano reported from Caracas. Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report. Sisak is an Associated Press reporter covering law enforcement, courts and prisons. He is based in New York.