US federal judge Alvin Hellerstein, who oversaw the Maduro and Trump cases, dies at 92
US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who was overseeing the case against former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, died on Tuesday. He was 92.
The court said he died of natural causes just short of his 93rd birthday.
Hellerstein had served as a US District Judge for the Southern District of New York since 1998, after being appointed by then-President Bill Clinton.
He had also presided over President Donald Trump's attempts to move his New York criminal case from state courts to federal courts.
Following Hellerstein's death, a new judge is set to be randomly assigned to handle the Maduro case.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are charged in a superseding indictment filed in early October with conspiracy to commit torture against Americans and others to stay in power. According to the indictment, Maduro's government presided over a system of repression that relied on violence against political opposition, arbitrary detention and the torture of detainees.
Under the indictment, the charge carries a maximum of life imprisonment if any of the alleged torture resulted in death, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if it did not.
The pair face numerous other charges and were arrested in Venezuela in January during Operation Absolute Resolve. Maduro was originally charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy in a 2011 indictment that President Trump's Department of Justice unsealed in 2020. They have pleaded not guilty and a trial is scheduled for June 2027.
Flores appeared in court earlier this month for a bond hearing on her motion for release from jail. Her lawyers requested home confinement with GPS tracking, citing a heart condition and arguing she does not pose a danger to the community. Hellerstein denied the request.
According to the Federal Judicial Center, Hellerstein earned his bachelor's degree and his law degree (JD) from Columbia University. He served in the US Army's Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps from 1957 to 1960, and spent 38 years in private practice before his judicial appointment.
