Judge Analisa Torres Takes Over U.S. Case Against Nicolas Maduro

The reassignment places a key procedural decision about sovereign immunity before a new federal judge, with a December ruling that could determine whether the criminal case against the sitting...

U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres has assumed jurisdiction over the federal criminal case against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro following the death of the presiding judge, Alvin Hellerstein, according to El Nacional, a Venezuelan news outlet that reported the reassignment on October 28, 2026.

Torres, who serves on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and is of Puerto Rican descent, is now responsible for resolving pending defense motions that seek dismissal of the indictment. The defense argument centers on the doctrine of sovereign immunity, which holds that a sitting head of state may not be subject to prosecution in a foreign court, El Nacional reported.

A ruling on those motions is scheduled for December, according to El Nacional. The outcome will determine whether the case proceeds to further litigation or is dismissed before trial.

Maduro was indicted in the Southern District of New York in March 2020 on narco-terrorism charges. The U.S. Department of Justice alleged that he and other senior Venezuelan officials conspired with the Colombian armed group FARC to flood the United States with cocaine. The indictment was unseated publicly by then-Attorney General William Barr, as documented in DOJ press releases archived by the Department of Justice.

The U.S. Government simultaneously announced a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to Maduro's arrest or conviction, per the DOJ announcement. Maduro has remained in Venezuela and has not been extradited or voluntarily appeared before any U.S. Court.

Sovereign immunity is a well-established principle of international law codified in instruments including the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2004. Courts in multiple countries have grappled with whether the doctrine shields sitting leaders from criminal prosecution abroad, and outcomes have varied depending on jurisdiction and the nature of the alleged conduct.

Judge Hellerstein had a long tenure on the Southern District bench and presided over numerous high-profile matters, including litigation related to the September 11, 2001 attacks. His death created the vacancy that led to the Torres reassignment.

Torres is not without her own high-profile record. She is best known for a 2023 ruling in the Southern District in which she found that secondary sales of the XRP cryptocurrency on public exchanges did not constitute securities transactions under federal law, a decision that drew significant attention in financial and legal circles, as reported at the time by Reuters.

The Maduro case sits at the intersection of U.S. Criminal law, international relations, and the contested question of how domestic courts handle accusations against foreign leaders who remain in power. Venezuela and the United States have not maintained normal diplomatic relations since 2019, when the Trump administration recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president, a position later reversed by the Biden administration.

No extradition treaty is currently in force between the United States and Venezuela, meaning any appearance by Maduro before a U.S. Court would require either voluntary surrender or apprehension on foreign soil, both of which are considered highly unlikely under current geopolitical conditions. What the December ruling will resolve is the narrower legal question of whether the case can continue at all given Maduro's status as a sitting head of state.