Hellerstein Dead, Maduro Trial Proceeds
The 92-year-old judge who managed the Venezuelan president’s criminal case passed away on Tuesday, leaving a new appointment for the 2027 trial.
By Petra Murphy ·
Alvin Hellerstein died on Tuesday at the age of 92. The U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York had been leading the federal prosecution of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Court records indicate he died of natural causes just before his 93rd birthday.
Hellerstein took the bench in 1998 after a nomination from President Bill Clinton. Before his judicial service, he spent 38 years in private practice. He also served in the Army JAG Corps from 1957 to 1960. He earned both his bachelor's degree and law degree from Columbia University.
The judge’s docket included high-profile matters beyond the Venezuelan case. He presided over President Donald Trump’s legal efforts to transfer his New York criminal case from state courts to federal courts. Those attempts did not succeed.
The Maduro case remains active. A new judge will be randomly assigned to take over the proceedings. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, face charges under a superseding indictment filed in early October. The document accuses them of conspiring to commit torture against Americans and others to maintain political power.
The indictment describes a system of repression involving violence, arbitrary detention, and torture. Listed methods include electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, and prolonged isolation. The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison if any victim died. If no death occurred, the maximum sentence is 20 years.
The pair were arrested in Venezuela in January during Operation Absolute Resolve. They have pleaded not guilty to all charges. A trial is currently set for June 2027. Earlier this month, Hellerstein denied a bond hearing request from Flores. Her attorneys sought home confinement with GPS tracking due to a heart condition, but the judge ruled she remained a potential danger to the community.
Flores and Maduro also face older charges from a 2011 indictment that was unsealed in 2020. Those counts include narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. The next step in the process is the random selection of a successor judge to manage the case through trial.
