Across two Trump terms the United States moved from sanctions on Nicolás Maduro and his government to recognising a rival interim president, indicting Maduro and, in January 2026, seizing him in Caracas. Maduro has pleaded not guilty in a New York federal court, including to a torture conspiracy charge added in October 2026, and his lawyers argue he is immune from prosecution as a head of state.
Maduro and Flores are held in a federal jail in Brooklyn and have pleaded not guilty to all charges, including a torture conspiracy charge added in October 2026. Their motions to dismiss on head of state immunity grounds are pending. Judge Hellerstein died on October 28, 2026 and Judge Analisa Torres is taking over the case, which had been set for trial on June 14, 2027.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Maduro under Executive Order 13692, blocking any of his assets under US jurisdiction and barring US persons from dealing with him.
Trump signed Executive Order 13808, barring US persons from certain dealings in new debt and equity of the Venezuelan government and the state oil company PdVSA.
Maduro won 68 percent of the vote in Venezuela's presidential election, with 52 percent of voters not casting ballots, Al Jazeera reported.
Trump signed Executive Order 13835, barring US persons from buying Venezuelan government debt. The order said the Maduro government was holding "snap elections that are neither free nor fair."
In a televised speech, Maduro gave the US charge d'affaires and his deputy 48 hours to leave Venezuela, accusing them of trying to sabotage the election.
Trump said the United States was officially recognising National Assembly president Juan Guaidó as interim president of Venezuela, after the Assembly declared Maduro illegitimate.
Maduro said his government was breaking relations with the United States and gave US diplomatic staff 72 hours to leave. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US did not consider Maduro to have the legal authority to do so.
The Treasury Department designated Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. under Executive Order 13850, blocking its property under US jurisdiction.
Trump signed Executive Order 13884, blocking US-held property of the Government of Venezuela. The order cited "the continued usurpation of power by Nicolas Maduro and persons affiliated with him."
The Justice Department announced a four-count superseding indictment, unsealed in the Southern District of New York, charging Maduro with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and two machine gun and destructive device counts. Prosecutors alleged he was a leader of the Cartel de los Soles. The State Department offered a reward of up to $15 million.
Richard Grenell, Trump's envoy for special missions, met Maduro at Miraflores Palace, and Venezuela freed six detained Americans. The White House said the trip focused on deportations and detainees.
Trump signed Proclamation 10903 invoking the Alien Enemies Act against the Tren de Aragua gang. It alleged the gang acted "at the direction, clandestine or otherwise, of the Maduro regime in Venezuela."
Trump signed Executive Order 14245, authorising a 25 percent tariff on goods from any country importing Venezuelan oil, effective April 2, 2025.
The Treasury Department designated Cartel de los Soles a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, alleging it supported Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel.
The State Department raised its reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest or conviction to up to $50 million, citing the Cartel de los Soles designation.
The United States said it would strengthen its naval presence in waters off Venezuela to counter drug cartels, deploying thousands of personnel, the Associated Press reported.
Venezuela responded by deploying troops along its coast and its border with Colombia and urging citizens to join a civilian militia, according to the Associated Press.
Trump said a US military strike on a vessel that departed Venezuela killed 11 people he described as Tren de Aragua members. Maduro did not address the strike directly, and a Venezuelan minister questioned whether the released video was genuine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio's designation of Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization took effect on publication in the Federal Register. The notice does not name Maduro.
In a post addressed to airlines, pilots, drug dealers and human traffickers, Trump said the airspace above and around Venezuela should be considered closed. He later told reporters not to "read anything into it."
The Venezuelan government called Trump's warning a "colonialist threat" and an "extravagant, illegal and unjustified aggression against the Venezuelan people," AFP reported.
Asked whether he had spoken with Maduro, Trump confirmed a call. Reuters cited a New York Times report that the call took place earlier in November and discussed a possible meeting in the United States.
Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela, a week after US forces seized a tanker off the Venezuelan coast. By then the US had carried out more than two dozen strikes on boats, killing at least 90 people, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
The Venezuelan government called the blockade order a "grotesque threat" that violated international law and free navigation, and said it would denounce it at the United Nations.
US forces seized Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas and took them to New York. An updated indictment made public the same day added new details and co-defendants, including Flores, Reuters reported. The Justice Department described Maduro in it as the "de facto but illegitimate ruler" of Venezuela, CNN reported.
Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty before US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein. Speaking through an interpreter, Maduro said he had been captured at his home in Caracas and called himself a prisoner of war.
Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, was sworn in as interim president in Caracas hours after the court hearing, Reuters reported. She expressed support for Maduro.
Trump signed Executive Order 14373, declaring a national emergency over possible court seizures of Venezuelan government funds held in US Treasury accounts and directing that the funds be held pending a decision by the Secretary of State.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control granted a licence allowing Venezuelan government funds to pay Maduro's and Flores's lawyers, then revoked it three hours later, MercoPress reported.
Lawyers for Maduro and Flores moved to dismiss the charges after the licence to pay them with Venezuelan government funds was withdrawn.
Trump signed Executive Order 14389, which listed the March 2025 tariff on countries importing Venezuelan oil among duties that would no longer be in effect. The order cited only "recent events."
At a hearing on March 26, Judge Hellerstein said from the bench that he would not dismiss the case, while questioning the government's basis for blocking the use of Venezuelan funds for the defence, MercoPress reported.
Washington authorised Venezuela to cover the legal representation of Maduro and Flores, MercoPress reported.
The Department of Homeland Security ended its suspension of direct commercial flights between the US and Venezuela, saying Venezuela's interim government had re-established diplomatic and economic relations with the United States.
Judge Hellerstein set June 1, 2027 as the preliminary start of the trial and adopted a pretrial schedule, including a November 17 hearing on the defence's dismissal arguments, MercoPress and the Associated Press reported.
Maduro and Flores filed motions to dismiss, arguing they are immune from prosecution as the head of state and first lady of a foreign country. Maduro's lawyers wrote that he denies the allegations.
In a filing on October 2, federal prosecutors argued that the 2019 US decision to stop recognising Maduro as head of state deserves "absolute deference" from the courts. They noted that the US recognises Delcy Rodríguez as head of state and that her government has not sought immunity for Maduro, The Edge Malaysia reported.
The Justice Department unsealed a superseding indictment charging Maduro and Flores with conspiring to commit torture, including of US citizens, alongside the narco-terrorism, cocaine importation and weapons counts. Prosecutors alleged the pair sat atop a system of repression. The department noted that an indictment is merely an allegation.
Maduro and Flores each pleaded not guilty to the superseding indictment. Maduro said he rejected the document and called the torture accusations false, and Judge Hellerstein entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. The judge moved the trial start to June 14, 2027, the Associated Press reported.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who had presided over the case since 2020, died at 92, the Associated Press reported. Judge Analisa Torres is taking over the case.
“In the face of imperialist threats, God (is) with us”
“Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America.”
| Court | US District Court, Southern District of New York |
| Case | United States v. Maduro, 11-cr-00205 |
| Charges against Maduro | Narco-terrorism conspiracy, torture conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, machine gun and destructive device offences |
| Plea | Not guilty, entered January 5, 2026, and again to the superseding indictment on October 15, 2026 |
| Judge | Analisa Torres, after Judge Alvin Hellerstein died on October 28, 2026 |
| Trial date | June 14, 2027 (set before the reassignment) |
| US reward before capture | Up to $50 million (set August 7, 2025) |
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Last updated 31 October 2026. Spotted an error? See corrections. Every event links to the record it comes from. Allegations are attributed to whoever made them.