Maduro's latest counterattack in a New York court targets not the specific accusations made by the U.S. prosecution regarding drug trafficking, but a more fundamental issue: Why does the United States have the right to try a foreign head of state?
On September 2nd, Maduro’s lawyer formally requested the Manhattan Federal Court to dismiss his criminal charges related to drug trafficking. The reason given was that when Maduro was taken by the US military from Caracas in January of this year, he was still the head of state of Venezuela. Therefore, according to international law, he was entitled to immunity as a head of state.
This proposition faces a very obvious obstacle: since 2019, the United States has no longer recognized Maduro as the legal president of Venezuela.
But Maduro’s lawyer pointed out a rather awkward logical flaw in the Trump administration’s reasoning—the United States does not recognize Maduro, but it does acknowledge Delcy Rodriguez, who was appointed as vice president by Maduro and took over after his arrest.
And this kind of ‘acknowledgment’ does not merely remain limited to diplomatic terminology.
On March 5th, the United States officially recognized Rodrigues as the head of Venezuela. Trump subsequently referred to her as “President of Venezuela” and praised her for her work. After that, diplomatic relations between the US and Venezuela were restored, and Rodrigues’ government pursued a series of oil cooperation projects with the US. By September, the US Energy Secretary even attended meetings in Caracas with her to promote new energy agreements.
More importantly, in July this year, the U.S. Department of Justice voluntarily requested a federal court in Florida to grant Rodriguez immunity as a national leader.
The logic of the U.S. government at that time was very clear: since the U.S. administration recognized Rodrigues as the current head of Venezuela, it was generally not possible for U.S. courts to exercise jurisdiction over her.
This has precisely become the best evidence for Maduro to attack the U.S. government today.
The question is, where does Rodriges’ power come from?
She is not a opposition president supported by the United States, nor did she come to power through a new presidential election. She was able to take control of the state apparatus after Maduro was arrested, primarily because she was originally the vice president of Maduro’s government and, according to Venezuela’s existing power structure, became the acting head of state.
It is a very subtle contradiction that arose:
If Maduro has not been a true president since 2019, then why can the vice president he appointed become a legitimate head of state recognized by the United States?
Of course, from an American legal perspective, this problem is not insoluble.
The U.S. government can certainly argue that recognizing foreign governments is a diplomatic matter that falls under the authority of the executive branch. The United States can choose not to recognize Maduro, or after Maduro is overthrown, it can re-establish recognition of Rodriguez's government for practical diplomatic reasons. U.S. courts have also traditionally respected the judgment of the executive branch on this issue.
This is also why Ma Duo Luo may still be very likely to remain unable to escape responsibility due to national head pardon.
In 1990, after the United States invaded Panama and captured Noriega, Noriega also requested immunity for the head of state, but the U.S. courts ultimately rejected his request. Legal experts generally believe that this case is currently more in favor of the U.S. prosecution.
But there is another important difference between Maduro and Noriega: Noriega did not officially hold the presidency as stipulated by Panamanian constitution, while Maduro indeed had long-term control over Venezuela's state apparatus. The Rodriguez government that the United States now recognizes is also a continuation of that power structure.
So, what Maduro is truly fighting for this time may not be just a retraction of the lawsuit.
He is forcing American courts to answer a more dangerous question:
Can a country declare the president of another country 'illegal' and then send troops to arrest him for criminal prosecution? At the same time, does it acknowledge the deputy appointed by this president as the legal head of state, and grant him immunity as head of state?
The American prosecution will respond by October 2nd, and the court plans to hold a hearing regarding the application for withdrawal of the case on November 17th.
