Who’s who in Maduro case: The judge, prosecutors and defense lawyers now facing off

Nicolas Maduro, the erstwhile far-left person of Venezuela captured successful a U.S. peculiar forces cognition implicit the play on with his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared successful tribunal Monday connected national narco-terrorism, cause trafficking and firearms charges.

The lawsuit has drawn comparisons to the akin downfall of Panama dictator Manuel Noriega successful the 1980s and appears to exemplify a reorganization of American overseas argumentation priorities successful President Donald Trump's 2nd term.

Maduro and Flores some pleaded not blameworthy successful a national tribunal Monday and waived their rights to a speedy proceedings until astatine slightest mid-March, erstwhile they are adjacent owed successful court.

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Captured Venezuelan person Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, look with their attorneys Barry Pollack and Mark Donnelly astatine their arraignment successful a national tribunal successful New York City connected Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (Jane Rosenberg)

Here's a breakdown of cardinal ineligible figures successful the case:

The judge:

Judge Alvin Hellerstein is presiding implicit the proceedings.

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Maduro's lawsuit is not the lone pending narcoterrorism lawsuit successful Hellerstein's court. Hugo "El Pollo" Carvajal, a erstwhile Venezuelan general, pleaded blameworthy to conspiracies to perpetrate narcoterrorism and import successful beforehand of Hellerstein past year. He besides pleaded blameworthy to charges of possessing instrumentality guns and destructive devices and conspiring to person more.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein presides successful Manhattan national tribunal successful a June 27, 2023, courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, who played a relation successful the 2020 indictment but is nary longer progressive successful the case, told Fox News Monday that prosecutors could person gained caller grounds from Carvajal that wasn't disposable to his bureau years ago.

The 92-year-old justice was nominated by then-President Bill Clinton successful 1998 and has played a relation successful a fig of high-profile ineligible decisions, including to merchandise images from Abu Ghraib, the rejection of projected civilian settlements from Harvey Weinstein, and a copyright infringement lawsuit betwixt The Associated Press and creator Shepard Fairey.

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Hellerstein rejected requests from Trump to determination the Stormy Daniels lawsuit to national court, leaving it successful the New York authorities system, wherever Judge Juan Merchan presided. He ruled against the Trump medication successful 2025, uncovering that utilizing the Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, without support from the courts.

Stormy Daniels testifies during erstwhile U.S. President Donald Trump's transgression proceedings connected charges that helium falsified concern records to conceal wealth paid to soundlessness Daniels successful 2016, successful Manhattan authorities tribunal successful New York City, May 9, 2024, successful this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

"He was appointed nether Clinton, and radical judge helium leans to the left," said Louis Gelormino, a New York City defence lawyer who has had cases successful beforehand of the judge. "However, I person ever recovered him to beryllium just and equitable — not favoring with close oregon left."

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The Columbia Law School alumnus has been the district's elder justice since 2011 and was a subordinate of the U.S. Army JAG Corps successful the 1950s.

In the Southern District of New York, transgression cases are assigned to judges successful a randomized process erstwhile an indictment is successful place.

"[Hellerstein is] ever courteous and respectful to the parties but won’t fto lawyers oregon litigants spell excessively far," Gelormino added. "Perfect illustration contiguous was Maduro started rambling. He yet chopped him off."

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The defense:

Defense lawyer Barry Pollack, who has offices successful Washington, D.C., and New York City, has filed to look connected Maduro's behalf.

He has extended acquisition with major, planetary cases arsenic good arsenic overturning wrongful convictions.

WikiLeaks laminitis Julian Assange walks with lawyer Barry Pollack extracurricular United States District Court pursuing a hearing, successful Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, June 26, 2024. (REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji)

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He is an adjunct prof astatine the Georgetown University Law Center and negotiated the plea statement that freed WikiLeaks laminitis Julian Assange. He represented a erstwhile Enron accounting executive, winning acquittals connected fraud charges aft the company's highly public, multibillion-dollar illness successful the aboriginal 2000s.

Another high-profile lawsuit was Marty Tankleff, a New York antheral who was exonerated aft serving 17 years successful situation for a wrongful condemnation connected charges that helium had killed his parents successful their location successful the upscale, waterfront colony of Belle Terre successful New York.

"Pollack volition reason sovereign immunity for Maduro," said Neama Rahmani, a erstwhile national authoritative who enactment hundreds of cross-border cause traffickers down bars aboriginal successful his career. "He concisely mentioned it successful court."

Julian Assange's U.S. lawyer Barry Pollack speaks to the media, extracurricular Woolwich Crown Court, successful London, Britain, Feb. 24, 2020. (REUTERS/Hannah Mckay)

Pollack described Maduro's apprehension arsenic "an abduction" successful tribunal Monday and said helium expected to record extended motions arsenic the lawsuit plays out.

"The statement volition neglect similar it did successful the Noriega lawsuit due to the fact that the State Department does not admit Maduro arsenic the morganatic caput of state," Rahmani said. "That’s wherefore the indictment says Maduro is the illegitimate ruler of Venezuela."

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Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are seen successful handcuffs aft landing astatine a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavy equipped national agents arsenic they marque their mode into an armored car en way to a national courthouse successful Manhattan connected Jan. 5, 2026, successful New York City. (XNY/Star Max/GC Images)

Maduro's woman volition beryllium represented by Houston-based lawyer Mark Donnelly, appearing pro hac vice.

He is simply a erstwhile national authoritative successful Texas who worked connected behalf of the Texas House of Representatives connected the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton was acquitted by the authorities Senate.

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Donnelly said successful tribunal Monday that his lawsuit had been injured successful the ribs during the raid successful Caracas and requested a aesculapian check.

"Both Pollack and Donnelly volition besides reason immunity based connected authoritative acts," Rahmani said. "That statement volition besides neglect due to the fact that narco-terrorism and cause trafficking are not authoritative acts."

The prosecution:

Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, signed a superseding indictment unsealed implicit the weekend.

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Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle A. Wirshba spoke connected behalf of the authorities astatine Monday's arraignment, but helium was 1 of astir a half-dozen radical seated astatine the prosecutors' table.

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez is questioned by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Wirshba earlier U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel during his proceedings connected U.S. cause trafficking charges successful Manhattan national tribunal successful New York City, March 5, 2024, successful this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

He's 1 of SDNY’s astir experienced prosecutors handling salient overseas figures accused of cause trafficking.

Wirshba is simply a subordinate of the SDNY's nationalist information and planetary narcotics portion and has prosecuted the Tren de Aragua pack and its alleged leader, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, who is besides named arsenic a co-defendant successful Maduro's indictment.

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Wirshba has been progressive successful the lawsuit since the archetypal indictment backmost successful 2020 and played a starring relation successful the prosecution of erstwhile Maduro state Cliver Alcala Cordones, who had been a wide successful Venezuela's subject earlier falling retired with his socialist brag and aboriginal pleading blameworthy to providing worldly enactment to the FARC, an anti-government, equipped militant radical successful Colombia that U.S. officials said trafficked tons of cocaine to American soil.

Retired Venezuelan service wide Cliver Alcala talks during a quality league successful Caracas connected July 18, 2016. (JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images)

He is the pb authoritative against Mexican cartel person Jesus Mendez-Vargas, who was extradited to look proceedings successful the U.S. past year, according to the Justice Department, and secured the condemnation of erstwhile Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez connected cocaine trafficking and firearms charges successful 2024.

President Donald Trump pardoned Hernandez successful December.

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The charges:

Maduro faces 4 charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of instrumentality guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to person instrumentality guns and destructive devices.

Flores faces three: cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of instrumentality guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to person instrumentality guns and destructive devices.

The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) successful Brooklyn, a United States national administrative detention facility, is pictured connected July 6, 2020, successful New York City. It has housed Ghislaine Maxwell, Luigi Mangione, Sean "Diddy" Combs and present captured Venezuela person Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.  (JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)

Both are being held astatine a national jailhouse successful Brooklyn. Their attorneys reserved the close to petition bail successful the future, but ineligible experts accidental it's improbable the justice would assistance it.

"This is an older indictment from 2020, and would person to person been signed disconnected connected by the Attorney General fixed the precocious illustration and politically delicate quality of the defendants," Rahmani said. "Bill Barr is precise experienced and would not person approved the indictment unless helium believed the DOJ had capable grounds to beryllium the lawsuit beyond a tenable doubt."

Prosecutors volition apt trust connected wiretaps, flipped conspirators and undercover operatives, helium told Fox News Digital.

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Lawyers connected some sides declined to code the media extracurricular the courthouse pursuing Maduro's arraignment Monday.

Fox News Research and Maria Paronich contributed to this report.