Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was arrested last January and extradited to New York, U.S. [Photo courtesy of Reuters-Yonhap News]

Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was ousted in a surprise U.S. military operation and is currently standing trial in the United States, has requested the dismissal of his indictment, claiming immunity as a head of state, Reuters reported on the 2nd (local time).

In the motion to dismiss filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Maduro’s attorney, Barry Pollack, argued that the acts for which the former president was indicted were part of his official duties and that a head of state enjoys absolute immunity.

He further emphasized that "this unprecedented indictment violates the immunity from criminal jurisdiction that has been granted to heads of state and foreign officials performing official duties for centuries."

Pollack wrote that the former president was falsely accused and that he vehemently denies all charges.

Former President Maduro and his wife were arrested in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, on January 3 during a U.S. military operation and transported to New York, where he is currently being held at a federal detention center in Brooklyn.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has charged the former president with four counts, including narcotics trafficking and conspiracy to commit terrorism.

Legal experts predict that despite Maduro's claim of immunity, he faces an uphill legal battle.

This is because the U.S. administration has not recognized Maduro as the president of Venezuela since 2019, and the courts defer to the executive branch’s determination regarding the recognition of foreign leaders.

The U.S. administration did not recognize the legitimacy of the 2018 Venezuelan presidential election, citing fraud, and also considers the 2024 election, in which Maduro won re-election, to be fraudulent.

While criminal cases in the U.S. involving a foreign head of state are rare, legal precedents are also not in Maduro's favor.

In 1990, a U.S. federal court in Miami rejected the claim of head-of-state immunity by Manuel Noriega, the former military dictator of Panama.

Pollack countered this by stating, "Unlike Noriega, the U.S. administration does not deny the fact that Maduro was the head of state of Venezuela," adding, "They only claim that he has not lawfully held that position since 2019."

He further pointed out that it is contradictory for the U.S. to recognize Delcy Rodríguez, whom the former president had appointed as vice president, as the acting president of Venezuela while failing to recognize Maduro himself.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York must submit its response to the motion to dismiss by the 2nd of next month. The Southern District Court is scheduled to hold a hearing on the motion on November 17.