Washington, United States. Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro returns to a U.S. court on Thursday on criminal charges including narcoterrorism, a statute that has rarely been tested at trial and has a limited record of success.
Case status and charges
Maduro, 63, led Venezuela from 2013 through his capture in Caracas by U.S. special forces on January 3. He pleaded not guilty on January 5 to all U.S. charges against him.
The conviction reversals in prior narcoterrorism cases do not affect Maduro’s case, and defendants in those cases faced additional charges that were not overturned. Maduro also faces three other counts, including cocaine importation conspiracy.
Narcoterrorism statute and trial record
The 2006 statute at issue was enacted to target drug trafficking tied to activities the United States considers terrorism. It has produced just four trial convictions, a Reuters review of federal court records shows, and two were later overturned over issues stemming from witness credibility.
The mixed record highlights what could be a central challenge for prosecutors in the Maduro case: persuading jurors that evidence from cooperating insiders credibly establishes a knowing link between alleged drug crimes and terrorism.
Prosecutorial challenge and witness issues
“The lesson of these two cases is not that the narcoterrorism statute is unworkable,” said Alamdar Hamdani, a partner at law firm Bracewell and former U.S. Attorney in Houston.
“It is that the statute’s most demanding element — proving the defendant’s knowledge of the terrorism nexus — requires a quality of evidence and a standard of prosecutorial diligence that leaves no room for institutional gaps, name-spelling errors, or uncritical acceptance of what your witnesses tell you,” he said.
Prosecutors have yet to disclose who will testify against Maduro. But one former Venezuelan general indicted alongside Maduro has told Reuters he is willing to cooperate.
Scope of enforcement
Congress created the narcoterrorism statute 20 years ago to target drug traffickers who finance activities the United States considers terrorism. Since then, 83 people, including Maduro, have been charged with violating it. Thirty-one pleaded guilty to narcoterrorism or lesser charges, eight are awaiting trial, and dozens are not in U.S. custody, according to the review.
What evidence will prosecutors present to prove a knowing link between alleged drug crimes and terrorism in Maduro’s case?
