History Suggests Maduro's Immunity Bid Will Fail, Professor Keitner Tells Reuters

Professor Chimène Keitner spoke to Reuters for a Sept. 1 story on ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s contention that he is immune from prosecution as the head of a sovereign state.

Maduro, who was arrested by the United States military in a surprise operation in January, is expected to file motions on Sept. 2 that his criminal drug-trafficking case should be dismissed.

Reuters reporter Luc Cohen notes that U.S. criminal cases involving heads of foreign states or people forcibly captured abroad are rare. But those that bear a resemblance to Maduro’s suggest he is unlikely to prevail.

"In the few cases in which this has come up - and they have been few and far between - the courts have essentially taken the executive branch's decision to bring charges as itself a determination of non-immunity," Keitner told Cohen.

Professor Keitner is a leading authority on international law and civil litigation and served as the 27th Counselor on International Law in the U.S. Department of State.