NEW YORKL: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores will go on trial starting on June 1, 2027, a US judge has ruled.
The couple, who pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and firearms charges, made their third appearance in a New York court after the forcible seizure by US troops in a military raid in early January.
During Wednesday's (local time) 15-minute hearing, Judge Alvin Hellerstein set the trial date at the request of lawyers on both sides.
Maduro's lawyer, Barry Pollack, said he will first challenge the indictment on sovereign immunity grounds because if that is successful, Maduro will not have to continue litigating the case.
On January 3, US military forces launched a large-scale strike against Venezuela and forcibly seized Maduro and his wife before transporting them to New York.
The US attacks have shocked the international community, triggering a stream of condemnation and serious concerns worldwide, reports Xinhua news agency.
During his first arraignment on January 5, Maduro pleaded not guilty to all US charges against him, including drug trafficking and told the court that he was "kidnapped" from his Caracas residence and that he remains president of Venezuela.
The couple has been jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, since their seizure in Caracas.
Meanwhile, Maduro's lawyer has continued pushing the judge to throw out the charges in court and argued that the United States is violating Maduro's constitutional rights by blocking Venezuelan government funds from paying for his legal fees.
Though doubting Washington's justification for barring Maduro from using Venezuela's funds to cover his legal defence, the judge denied the dismissal of the case.
--IANS
