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Gone quiet · last update Oct 15, 2026 / Nicolás Maduro

Nicolás Maduro's drug-trafficking case in New York after his capture

Overview · reviewed October 28, 2026

After US forces captured Nicolás Maduro in Caracas in January 2026, the ousted Venezuelan president and his wife, Cilia Flores, were brought to New York to face federal drug-trafficking charges, and both pleaded not guilty.[1] A judge set their trial for June 1, 2027,[2] and Maduro has asked for the case to be dismissed on the grounds that he is immune from prosecution as a head of state.[3] In October 2026, prosecutors added a charge that the couple conspired to torture detainees, including Americans, to which both pleaded not guilty.[4][5]

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A judge set their trial for June 1, 2027,[2] and Maduro has asked for the case to be dismissed on the grounds that he is immune from prosecution as a head of state.[3] In October 2026, prosecutors added a charge that the couple conspired to torture detainees, including Americans, to which both pleaded not guilty.[4][5]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-12-29 (UTC): 5%, 8 of 166 tracked outlets (3 left, 4 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-01-05 (UTC): 27%, 53 of 198 tracked outlets (19 left, 25 center, 9 right)Week of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): 4%, 7 of 186 tracked outlets (0 left, 3 center, 4 right)Week of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): 8%, 13 of 170 tracked outlets (4 left, 7 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): 4%, 7 of 157 tracked outlets (3 left, 3 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): 9%, 49 of 562 tracked outlets (14 left, 21 center, 14 right)Week of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): under 1%, 1 of 466 tracked outlets (0 left, 1 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-08-31 (UTC): 4%, 21 of 475 tracked outlets (6 left, 5 center, 10 right)Week of 2026-09-07 (UTC): 2%, 8 of 480 tracked outlets (4 left, 3 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-09-14 (UTC): 3%, 12 of 480 tracked outlets (3 left, 4 center, 5 right)Week of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): 11%, 53 of 479 tracked outlets (16 left, 27 center, 10 right)Week of 2026-10-12 (UTC): 4%, 20 of 476 tracked outlets (6 left, 9 center, 5 right)Week of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 7 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (12 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Oct 12, 202669520 of 4764%
Oct 5, 202616271053 of 47911%
Sep 14, 202634512 of 4803%
Sep 7, 20264318 of 4802%
Aug 31, 2026651021 of 4754%
Aug 24, 20260101 of 466under 1%
Jul 20, 202614211449 of 5629%
Apr 20, 20263317 of 1574%
Mar 23, 202647213 of 1708%
Feb 23, 20260347 of 1864%
Jan 5, 20261925953 of 19827%
Dec 29, 20253418 of 1665%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Oct 14, 2026 · first reported · Headline from WHEC Rochester

    Ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro says new torture allegations are ‘false’

Background

Maduro and Flores were moved into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after their capture.[6] On January 5, they appeared in a Manhattan federal court on charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons offenses, and pleaded not guilty.[1] Maduro declared that he had been captured and that he was still the president of his country.[7] His case was expected to revive the legal debate over immunity for foreign leaders that was tested in the trial of Panama's Manuel Noriega.[8]

Read the full background (4 more paragraphs)

A fight over paying for the defense followed. In February, Maduro's lawyer, Barry Pollack, told the judge that the Treasury Department was blocking the Venezuelan government from paying for the defense.[9] Maduro returned to court in March, as Venezuela moved on without him.[10] In April, after Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein questioned why the funds were being blocked, the US agreed to let Venezuela pay for the couple's defense.[11]

In July, Hellerstein set June 1, 2027, as the start of the trial, while a defense lawyer vowed to seek dismissal on the ground that Maduro is immune from prosecution as the head of a country.[2] In September, Maduro and Flores asked the judge to dismiss the , arguing that they have immunity as the leader and first lady of a foreign country.[3]

From jail, Maduro shared photographs of himself in August, calling them "a small gift of love and hope" to his family and supporters.[12] Flores asked in September to await trial in home confinement, citing a serious heart condition,[13] and in October her lawyers urged the judge to release her to house arrest, while prosecutors said she wanted special treatment.[14]

The case widened in the fall. In September, Alex Saab, a close Maduro ally whom US officials had long described as his frontman, pleaded guilty in a $195 million money-laundering case and agreed to cooperate.[15] In October, prosecutors unsealed a new indictment accusing Maduro and Flores of conspiring to torture political opponents and detainees, including American citizens, to hold on to power.[4] On October 15, the couple, shackled at the ankles, returned to court and pleaded not guilty to the new charges, calling them "false allegations."[5]

Supporting stories (15)
  1. Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearing
  2. June 1 trial date set for Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro in his US drug trafficking case
  3. Maduro seeks to have charges dismissed under immunity claims
  4. New U.S. indictment charges former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro with torture
  5. Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro pleads not guilty to torture
  6. Maduro held in NYC jail as Trump administration plans for Venezuela
  7. Maduro says 'I was captured' as he pleads not guilty to drug trafficking charges
  8. Maduro’s case will revive legal debate over immunity for foreign leaders tested in Noriega trial
  9. Maduro's Lawyer Says US Is Blocking Venezuela Government from Paying Deposed Leader's Drug Defense
  10. Nicolás Maduro heads back to a US court, fighting charges as Venezuela moves on without him
  11. U.S. says Venezuela can pay for Nicolás Maduro and his wife's defense
  12. Slimmed-down Nicolas Maduro flashes smile, peace sign in new jail pics
  13. Nicolás Maduro's Wife Cilia Flores Seeks Release From Brooklyn Jail Over Severe Heart Condition
  14. Wife of ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro seeks release from US jail
  15. Maduro ally Alex Saab pleads guilty in a $195M money laundering case, agrees to cooperate

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 16 recorded updates

October 2026

  1. Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro pleads not guilty to tortureHeadline from ABC News · 25 outlets
  2. New U.S. indictment charges former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro with tortureHeadline from NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth · 53 outlets
  3. Wife of ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro seeks release from US jailHeadline from Bangor Daily News · 10 outlets

September 2026

  1. Maduro ally Alex Saab pleads guilty in a $195M money laundering case, agrees to cooperateHeadline from WHEC Rochester · 13 outlets
  2. Nicolás Maduro's Wife Cilia Flores Seeks Release From Brooklyn Jail Over Severe Heart ConditionHeadline from Latin Times · 9 outlets
  3. Maduro seeks to have charges dismissed under immunity claimsHeadline from ABC 7 New York · 16 outlets

August 2026

  1. Slimmed-down Nicolas Maduro flashes smile, peace sign in new jail picsHeadline from New York Post · 10 outlets

July 2026

  1. June 1 trial date set for Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro in his US drug trafficking caseHeadline from WHEC Rochester · 52 outlets

April 2026

  1. U.S. says Venezuela can pay for Nicolás Maduro and his wife's defenseHeadline from NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth · 7 outlets

March 2026

  1. Nicolás Maduro heads back to a US court, fighting charges as Venezuela moves on without himHeadline from MyNorthwest · 14 outlets

February 2026

  1. Maduro's Lawyer Says US Is Blocking Venezuela Government from Paying Deposed Leader's Drug DefenseHeadline from Military.com · 7 outlets

January 2026

  1. Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingHeadline from The Week · 22 outlets
  2. Maduro is taken to a US courthouse for his first appearance on drug trafficking chargesHeadline from MyNorthwest · 32 outlets
  3. Maduro says 'I was captured' as he pleads not guilty to drug trafficking chargesHeadline from Boston · 6 outlets
  4. Maduro’s case will revive legal debate over immunity for foreign leaders tested in Noriega trialHeadline from NBC New York · 6 outlets
  5. Maduro held in NYC jail as Trump administration plans for VenezuelaHeadline from CBS News · 20 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →