Venezuela's Maduro, US Justice Department propose June 2027 trial start

NEW YORK, July 21 - Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and prosecutors with the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday proposed a June 2027 start date for Maduro's U.S. criminal trial on drug trafficking charges.

The joint proposal came in a court filing ahead of a hearing in Maduro's case scheduled for Wednesday at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT) in Manhattan federal court.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case, must ultimately set the schedule. The parties said in the filing that they may seek changes to the schedule.

U.S. Special Forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas during a nighttime raid in January and brought them to New York to face the charges. They have pleaded not guilty. REUTERS