Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have asked a U.S. judge to drop the drug trafficking charges against them, arguing that they are protected by immunity as the leader and first lady of a foreign country. Their legal team submitted documents to a federal court in Manhattan, stating that the charges should be dismissed because foreign leaders cannot be tried in the courts of another nation. "No American court has ever presided over the criminal trial of a foreign leader who was recognized by their own country as the sitting head of state at the time the charges were brought," the lawyers wrote, emphasizing that this is a long-standing legal principle, not a historical coincidence. Maduro and his wife are scheduled to face trial in June 2023, but Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein has set a hearing on November 17 to consider their motions to dismiss the case. Since early January, the couple has been held in a Brooklyn jail after U.S. forces raided their home in Caracas and transported them to New York. Their legal representatives argue that even if Maduro were not protected by the immunity of being a head of state, he is still entitled to another form of immunity based on the conduct of the alleged crimes. They also claim Maduro "vehemently denies the allegations against him" and that the case would reveal he was falsely accused. In separate legal filings, Flores' lawyers added that her immunity stems from Venezuela’s sovereignty, and only Venezuela can waive that protection. Both Maduro and Flores have pleaded not guilty to charges that were originally brought six years ago against several other individuals. If a jury finds them guilty, they could face life sentences for allegedly conspiring to transport large amounts of cocaine into the U.S. by working with Venezuelan law enforcement to aid drug traffickers. Federal prosecutors are expected to respond to the defense’s arguments later this month. The Trump administration described the raid to capture Maduro as a "surgical law enforcement operation," while Maduro has called himself a "prisoner of war" and referred to his capture as a kidnapping. U.S. officials allege that Maduro was involved in a conspiracy to move thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States by colluding with Venezuelan authorities to support drug kingpins.