Arrested Venezuelan leader Maduro to be tried in NY court under Jewish judge Alvin Hellerstein

Following his arrest by U.S. forces on Saturday, Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, will stand trial in a criminal case in a federal court presided by U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, an Orthodox Jew, who has presided over cases related to investigations into President Donald Trump. 

After the arrest of Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, they were taken to the United States, where it was announced that they would face charges in the Southern District of New York, where federal prosecutors have already filed charges against him. Most of the charges, which were released in a post to social media by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, stem from the Department of Justice’s previous filing of charges, during President Donald Trump’s first term in March 2020. 

Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess…

— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 3, 2026

At that time, U.S. Justice Department officials filed charges against Maduro and 14 other Venezuelan officials over accusations of narco-terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking, and other criminal charges, issuing an arrest warrant, which was never carried out. 

On Saturday, AG Bondi announced that Maduro and Flores had been indicted in the Southern District of New York, where Judge Hellerstein serves as a senior U.S. district judge. 

Hellerstein was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1998, and attained senior status in the federal court system in 2011. Judge Hellerstein presided over  several cases related to the Sept. 11 attacks, a lawsuit connected to the Harvey Weinstein trial, and was involved in rulings related to the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison. More recently, Judge Hellerstein ruled that President Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans suspected of being in the country illegally was invalid. He is also presiding over the case of Hugo Carvajal, a Venezuelan diplomat, intelligence official, and retired general from the Venezuelan army, who was arrested in Spain and extradited to the U.S. to face narco-terrorism charges.  

Judge Hellerstein formerly practiced law with the firm of Strook and Strook and Lavan in New York City for nearly four decades. While his religious affiliation is known, Hellerstein is most known for his reputation of strict judicial independence and careful following of federal procedures in the cases he oversees. 

The Maduro case is being closely followed by many Jews, not only due to the Venezuelan dictator’s open antisemitism, but also because Maduro himself is the descendant of Sephardic Jews. Maduro told a Venezuelan news agency in 2013, “My grandparents were Jewish, so many of the Maduros, same as the Moors [Muslims], converted to Catholicism in Venezuela.” 

Despite Maduro’s admission, he maintained many of the same antisemitic policies of his predecessor, causing many Jews to flee Venezuela during the rule of Chavez and Maduro. 

Following an election setback in 2024, Maduro blamed “Zionist” interference. He has also publicly referenced the blood libel accusing all Jews of being guilty of the death of Jesus. 

Maduro’s siding with Iran and partnership with Hezbollah are another factor in the Jewish interest in his case, as the repercussions from the arrest appear likely to impact the Middle East as well. 

Zohran Mamdani, the newly installed mayor of New York, where Maduro will face charges, posted a note to social media on Saturday evening, calling his arrest "an act of war and a violation of federal and international law."

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee pilloried Mamdani's statement in a post to social media.

"I pity the people of NY for electing a mayor who sides with a drug trafficker & ally of Iran & Hezbollah rather than his constituents," Huckabee wrote to 𝕏. "Will he & Sen Van Hollen go to Maduro's jail cell to sip margaritas for solidarity?"