The short version
- El Nuevo Día reports that Judge Analisa Torres, born in New York to Puerto Rican parents, will preside over the case against Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores after the death of Judge Alvin Hellerstein
- El Vocero states that Torres inherits an advanced case file with a jury trial scheduled for June 14, 2027, and must first address immunity claims by the defendants
- Both outlets confirm Torres was appointed to the Southern District of New York by President Barack Obama in 2013 and comes from a family of judges and legislators
- El Vocero notes the charges include narcoterrorism, cocaine importation, weapons offenses and torture conspiracy, carrying potential life sentences
Assignment follows judge's death
Judge Analisa Torres, a federal judge of Puerto Rican descent, has been assigned to preside over the criminal case against former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. El Nuevo Día reported that the assignment follows the death of Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who was 92.
According to El Vocero, Hellerstein had overseen the case since charges were first brought in 2020. Torres, who has served on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York since 2013, does not have to restart the proceedings from the beginning.
El Vocero reported that one of Torres' first tasks will be to rule on requests by Maduro and Flores to dismiss the charges on sovereign immunity grounds. The couple was captured in January following U.S. military intervention against the Maduro government and is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
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What the sources posted
Posts and statements below are the sources' own words, quoted as published. They are not independently verified.
Su servicio enérgico y dedicado a este tribunal continuó hasta su fallecimiento
The source's own statement, as quoted by El Nuevo Día. Not verified by PuertoRico.com.
Background on the judge
Both outlets agree that Torres was nominated by then-President Barack Obama. El Nuevo Día reported that she was born in New York to Puerto Rican parents and previously served on the New York Supreme Court. Her father, Frank Torres, and grandfather, Felipe Torres, were judges and Democratic state legislators.
El Vocero added that Torres graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and earned her law degree from Columbia University. During her 2013 Senate confirmation hearing, she thanked Obama and recalled her grandfather. The outlets note that Torres previously presided over a high-profile SEC case against Ripple Labs involving the cryptocurrency XRP.
Where the sources differ
The two sources largely agree on the core facts: Judge Analisa Torres assuming the Maduro case after Judge Alvin Hellerstein's death on Wednesday, her Puerto Rican family background, Obama appointment in 2013, and the nature of the charges. El Vocero provides additional details on the trial date of June 14, 2027, the specific pending immunity motions, the full list of charges in the superseding indictment of Oct. 8, and potential life sentences. El Nuevo Día includes more on Torres' recent rulings, such as the July decision on Kalshi and the SEC-Ripple case, and notes the exact date of the U.S. military intervention as Jan. 3. Both attribute the announcement of Hellerstein's death to Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain.
What the reports do not say
The reports do not state the cause of Judge Hellerstein's death. They provide no timeline for when Torres will rule on the sovereign immunity motions or whether any pretrial hearings have already been scheduled. The articles do not indicate how the defendants' legal teams or the Department of Justice reacted to the change of judge, nor do they mention the current status of any co-defendants or cooperating witnesses in the case.
Sources
Every link below was opened and checked when this story was published. Official means a government body, agency or the organization itself; Reporting means a news outlet.
- Reporting Una jueza boricua nombrada por Barack Obama presidirá el caso de Nicolás Maduro
- Reporting Jueza de ascendencia boricua llevará las riendas del juicio de Nicolás Maduro
How we checked this
El Nuevo Día and El Vocero both reported on the assignment of Judge Analisa Torres to the case against Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores. Details on the family judicial legacy, Torres' education and her prior notable rulings rest on both outlets, while the trial date, specific pending motions and full charge list appear only in El Vocero. The statement from Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain on Hellerstein's death is cited by El Nuevo Día.
Compiled by the PuertoRico.com News Desk from the reports and statements listed above, and checked against them before publishing. It does not include original interviews. Spot an error? Email support@puertorico.com with a link to this story.
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