Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife asked a U.S. judge Wednesday to dismiss drug trafficking charges against them, arguing they are immune from prosecution as the former leader and first lady of a foreign country.
In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, lawyers for Maduro said a judge was required by law to reject the indictment because it cannot be brought against a foreign leader.
"No American court has ever presided over the criminal trial of a foreign leader who was recognized by their own country as the sitting head of state at the time the charges were brought," the lawyers wrote.
"That is not an accident of history. It reflects a rule older than the common law: heads of state are exempt from the criminal process of any national court but their own," they added.
Maduro and his wife are scheduled to go on trial on drug trafficking charges next June 1. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein has set oral arguments for Nov. 17 on motions to dismiss the indictment.
