Judge Who Handled Maduro and Trump Cases Dies at 92

The legal team for former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will lose its presiding judge. Alvin Hellerstein, the U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York, died Tuesday of natural causes. He was 92, reaching his death just short of his 93rd birthday.

Hellerstein had sat on the federal bench since 1998. President Bill Clinton appointed him to the post. Before his judicial career, he spent 38 years in private practice. He also served in the Army JAG Corps from 1957 to 1960. Both his bachelor's degree and his law degree came from Columbia University.

His docket included high-profile matters that drew national attention. He handled President Donald Trump's efforts to move his New York criminal case from state court to federal court. He now oversees the criminal case against Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The pair were arrested in Venezuela in January during Operation Absolute Resolve.

Prosecutors filed a superseding indictment in early October. It charges the couple with conspiracy to commit torture against Americans and others to maintain power. The document states that Maduro's government used violence, arbitrary detention, and torture to suppress political opposition. It lists electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, and starvation as alleged methods. Prosecutors claim these actions aimed to punish opponents and intimidate families, including children.

The torture charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison if the alleged acts caused a death. If no death resulted, the maximum is 20 years. Maduro faces older charges from a 2011 indictment unsealed in 2020. Those include narco-terrorism conspiracy and weapons counts. Flores faces cocaine importation conspiracy and similar weapons charges. Both have pleaded not guilty. A trial is scheduled for June 2027.

Hellerstein's death leaves the Maduro matter without a judge. A new judge is expected to be assigned randomly. The court will manage the transition while the case remains active. Flores recently sought release from jail at a bond hearing earlier this month. Her lawyers argued for home confinement with GPS tracking due to a heart condition. They claimed she was not a danger to the community. Hellerstein denied that request.

The case remains in the pretrial phase. The next major milestone is the scheduled trial date in mid-2027. The court will assign a new judge to handle all pending motions and scheduling orders. The defendants are currently in federal custody.