VENEZUELA TODAYSep 28Claudia Macero, María Corina Machado's press chief, returns to Venezuela after exileVENEZUELA TODAYSep 28Chavismo and the opposition agree on seven-jurist panel to vet new Supreme Court candidatesVENEZUELA TODAYSep 27Marches in six cities demand María Corina Machado's return and presidential electionsVENEZUELA TODAYSep 27Delcy Rodríguez frames her UN trip as an economic turn as María Corina Machado stays off the negotiating tableVENEZUELA TODAYSep 27Comando con Venezuela calls nationwide caravan demanding María Corina Machado's return and 2027 electionsVENEZUELA TODAYSep 27Government and AN2015 close second dialogue round with deal to expand digital press freedomVENEZUELA TODAYSep 26María Corina Machado denied flight permits for the third time this weekVENEZUELA TODAYSep 26Chavismo frees Operación Gedeón prisoners after second round of dialogueVENEZUELA TODAYSep 26Delcy Rodríguez promises elections at the UN with no date, avoids mentioning Maduro and Cilia FloresVENEZUELA TODAYSep 26U.S. prosecutors formally oppose Cilia Flores's bid for house arrestVENEZUELA TODAYSep 26María Corina Machado weighs a public return to Venezuela after new failed attemptsVENEZUELA TODAYSep 25U.S. prosecutors oppose house-arrest release for Cilia FloresTOCORÓN WATCHSep 23Prosecutors oppose Cilia Flores's bid for house arrest releaseTOCORÓN WATCHSep 22Judge issues protective order for handling evidence in Maduro case
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United States v. Maduro Moros et al. · S.D.N.Y. No. 1:11-cr-00205

Cilia Flores's lawyers seek dismissal, citing head-of-state spousal immunity

Key filingFiled in court on · Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein
Published

COURT DOCUMENT Document details

Case
United States v. Maduro Moros et al. · S.D.N.Y. No. 1:11-cr-00205
Docket entry
No. 325
Filed
Document
Memorandum of Law Supporting Cilia Flores's Motion to Dismiss on Sovereign Immunity Grounds
Original
Court filing (PDF, English)
Public docket
CourtListener

Summary written from the filing; the document itself is the record.

Cilia Flores's attorneys filed a 41-page memorandum arguing that, as the wife of Venezuela's president, she shares the absolute head-of-state immunity that protects Nicolás Maduro. The defense also argues that, even without that immunity, every act the indictment attributes to her was performed through her public offices or on her husband's orders, which would independently shield her. The filing cites past cases where the U.S. recognized immunity for other countries' first ladies, including Mexico's and Jordan's, and notes that Venezuela has formally asserted her immunity before the U.N. Security Council.

Court
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan) · case 1:11-cr-00205
Judge
Alvin K. Hellerstein · who he is
Prosecution
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York (U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton)
Defense
Barry Pollack (Maduro) · Mark Donnelly (Cilia Flores)
Next date
September 30, 2026 · Defense reply on house arrest due
Where it stands
Maduro and Cilia Flores held at MDC Brooklyn since January 2026; both pleaded not guilty. Trial set for June 1, 2027. Hugo Carvajal pleaded guilty (June 2025) and awaits sentencing. Diosdado Cabello is charged but not in custody.

What it means

This is a defense legal argument, not a court ruling — prosecutors have not agreed with this position and the case continues. If the judge were to accept the immunity argument, the case against Cilia Flores would be dismissed without trial, but for now she retains the presumption of innocence on the narcotics and firearms charges she faces.

In the document's own words

“No court of the United States has ever presided over the criminal trial of the spouse of a sitting foreign head of state.”
Page 10 — This opening line frames the core novelty and stakes of the defense's argument.
“Under general principles of international law, heads of State and immediate members of their families are immune from suit.”
Page 18 — This quoted precedent is the central legal authority the defense relies on for spousal immunity.
“the kidnapping of the constitutional President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro Moros, and the First Lady, Cilia Flores”
Page 18 — This shows Venezuela's formal diplomatic assertion of Flores's immunity at the U.N., a key factual basis for the motion.
This summary (PDF) The court document (PDF) Spanish translation coming soon
How the court describes it (original, English)
MEMORANDUM in Support by Cilia Adela Flores De Maduro re 324 MOTION to Dismiss for Sovereign Immunity.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A-C)(Donnelly, Mark) (Entered: 09/02/2026)

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