Alvin Hellerstein, a 92-year-old judge appointed by Bill Clinton, to preside over Maduro’s trial in New York

Alvin Hellerstein, a 92-year-old Orthodox Jewish judge appointed by Bill Clinton nearly three decades ago to federal court, will preside over the trial of Nicolás Maduro. The Venezuelan president was captured Saturday by U.S. military forces while he slept in Caracas and taken to the Brooklyn Detention Center to await his arraignment, scheduled for Monday.

Hellerstein, born in New York in 1933, served in the U.S. Army’s military prosecution service, practiced law in the private sector, and in May 1998 was appointed federal judge for the Southern District of New York by then-President Bill Clinton. He is one of the longest-serving sitting judges.

The case against Maduro is expected to take place in the Southern District Court of New York, although this is not entirely certain, as the U.S. president has left open the possibility of it being moved to Florida. If New York is confirmed, the trial will take place in the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse, which has held high-profile cases against drug traffickers, members of organized crime and media personalities. Among these is the former president of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernández, sentenced to 45 years in prison for drug trafficking, but recently pardoned by Trump.

If the New York location is confirmed, Hellerstein will be at the center of one of the most significant legal proceedings in recent decades. The judge has played a central role in some of the most sensitive cases in the United States. He presided over civil compensation claims brought by victims of the 9/11 attacks, the sexual harassment case against film producer Harvey Weinstein, and the case against Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen.

This judge is also handling the case against former Venezuelan General Hugo Armando “Pollo” Carvajal, who is accused of drug trafficking. The testimony of this former head of intelligence for the Chavista regime who has decided to cooperate with authorities will play a significant role in Maduro’s trial. Last summer, Carvajal pleaded guilty to four charges related to drug trafficking and narcoterrorism in the same New York federal court where the Venezuelan president will be tried.

Hellerstein, who studied law at Columbia University, began his career as a clerk at the court he now presides over. Throughout his career, he has issued well-reasoned rulings and has a reputation for impartiality. He has written that the way in which a judge decides a case should not depend on his religious education, religious identity or religious values.

The case against Maduro will keep him busy. The indictment from the U.S. Attorney General’s office accuses the Venezuelan leader of four charges: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States. It also extends these charges to his wife, his son, and two other high-ranking officials in his government.

The prosecution accuses Maduro of illegally enriching himself during his years in various levels of the Venezuelan government and of having plans to flood the United States with drugs.

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