Captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty to charges of narco-terrorism and other charges in a New York court on Monday, with 92-year-old judge Alvin Hellerstein presiding over their case. He was nominated as a district court judge by ex-president Bill Clinton in 1998 for the Southern District of New York. During his long and eventful career, Hellerstein has presided over several civil cases stemming from the 11 September, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington, DC. Hellerstein also blocked the Trump administration last year from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members without a court hearing. In another high-profile fraud case, Hellerstein sentenced Bill Hwang, the founder of US investment firm Archegos Capital Management, to 18 years in behind bars.

Source: Mint January 05, 2026 23:35 UTC