U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who had been overseeing the federal case against deposed Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro, died Wednesday at age 92, Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the Southern District of New York announced.
Hellerstein, born in December 1933, died of natural causes in Manhattan weeks before his 93rd birthday. He was appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton in 1998 and served more than 25 years, presiding over major litigation stemming from the September 11, 2001, attacks as well as cases involving President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies.
“Judge Hellerstein was an insightful and dedicated lawyer who, following a distinguished career in the private sector, served with distinction for over 25 years as a distinguished jurist of this court,” Chief Judge Swain said in a Wednesday press advisory. “He presided over the massive tort litigation arising from the September 11 attacks with sensitivity, fairness and efficiency, as well as many other high-profile matters.”
“His energetic and dedicated service to this Court continued until his death. He is greatly appreciated and will be sorely missed. Our deepest sympathies are with his family at this sad time,” she continued.
The Maduro Case
Hellerstein had been assigned the drug trafficking case against Maduro since 2020, years before U.S. forces captured the Venezuelan leader and his wife, “first combatant” Cilia Flores, during a January 3, 2026, operation in Caracas.
This month, prosecutors filed new charges accusing the pair of running a state-sponsored system of repression that resulted in torture, including the torture of American citizens, during Maduro’s rule. Maduro and Flores have both pleaded not guilty to the torture charges. The trial had been scheduled to begin in mid-2027 under Hellerstein’s supervision.
According to the Courthouse News Service, Hellerstein had recently appeared frail on the bench, denying a house-arrest request from Flores’ defense team while acknowledging he had a “voice problem” that made delivering his oral ruling difficult.
What Happens Next
Hellerstein’s pending cases are being randomly reassigned to other judges in the Southern District of New York. The Maduro and Flores case has reportedly been reassigned to U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres, who was appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama in January 2013.
As of now, the trial remains scheduled to begin in June 2027, the date originally set by Hellerstein. A pre-trial hearing had already been scheduled for December 17 before his death.
“We were saddened to learn of Judge Hellerstein’s passing and offer our condolences to his family,” Maduro’s defense team said in a statement to ABC News on Wednesday.
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