> At a Glance
> – Nicolás Maduro and wife Cilia Flores arraigned Monday in Manhattan federal court
> – Judge Alvin Hellerstein, 92, has overseen Trump hush-money and 9/11 cases
> – The 2018 narco-terrorism indictment had been stalled six years
> – Why it matters: The long-delayed U.S. prosecution of Venezuela’s ousted leader is finally moving under a veteran jurist known for high-stakes trials
Nicolás Maduro’s first steps into a federal courtroom in New York mark the start of a judicial showdown six years in the making. The 2018 narco-terrorism indictment that accused Venezuela’s former leader of conspiring to flood the U.S. with cocaine is now before Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a 92-year-old Clinton appointee with a résumé of headline-grabbing cases.
The Arraignment
Maduro and Flores were shuttled from a Brooklyn jail to Manhattan before sunrise. As cameras tracked the motorcade, Maduro flashed a thumbs-up to NBC New York’s Chopper 4. Inside the courtroom, Hellerstein read the charges and set the case on a trial track that had been frozen since the sealed indictment first landed six years ago.
Hellerstein has already handled several co-defendants in the same superseding indictment. Those earlier pleas and hearings give him a running start on the complex evidence linking Venezuelan officials to alleged cocaine flights bound for the United States.
A Judge With History
Appointed in October 1998, Hellerstein moved to senior status in January 2011, a form of semi-retirement that keeps veteran judges on active but trimmed dockets. His past caseload includes:
- The 9/11 victims’ litigation against airlines and security firms
- A Sudanese genocide damages suit on behalf of American embassy bombings survivors
- Donald Trump’s hush-money criminal trial, where he ruled on evidence disputes
The judge began his career clerking for Hon. Edmund Palmiere in the Southern District of New York, served in the U.S. Army, then spent decades in private practice before taking the bench.
Key Takeaways
- Maduro’s delayed U.S. prosecution is now on track under a judge experienced with polarizing, high-profile trials
- Judge Hellerstein, 92, combines senior status flexibility with decades of federal-court seasoning
- The case joins a docket that has already shaped precedent on terrorism finance and presidential evidence disputes
With arraignment complete, the focus shifts to discovery, possible pre-trial motions, and whether Maduro will remain in U.S. custody as the case inches toward trial.
