U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who was overseeing the case against Venezuela's deposed socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro in Manhattan, died on Wednesday, Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain announced.
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Alvin K. Hellerstein died Wednesday at 92 of natural causes after nearly three decades presiding over high-profile matters. He had led the penal process against President Maduro and Cilia Flores since the two were kidnapped on January 3 during a U.S. military incursion into Venezuelan territory.
Ed Friedland, administrative director of the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, confirmed the death.
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Hellerstein held the role for nearly three decades. He was appointed in 1998 by then U.S President Bill Clinton to the Southern District of New York, considered one of the most significant federal tribunals in United States.
BDE: Longtime Manhattan federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein, an Orthodox Jew appointed by President Clinton in 1998, has died at 92, according to a court spokesperson. He was overseeing the prosecution of deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. pic.twitter.com/w0nHyrcwc2
— KolHaolam (@KolHaolam) October 28, 2026
The federal case against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has a new judge. Analisa Torres will preside over the Southern District of New York proceedings after the death of Alvin K. Hellerstein, court records confirmed Wednesday.
The tribunal posted a document covering the reassignment of matters “previously assigned to judges no longer serving due to retirement or death.” The notice names Torres as the magistrate now handling the file.
The court’s standard procedure produced the transition. A docket left by a deceased judge passes to a colleague, assigned without public choice. The reassignment document makes no special provision for the President Maduro file, treating it like every other pending matter.
Analisa Torres was born in New York in 1959. She reached the federal bench in 2013 by appointment of President Barack Obama, and she has since presided over a wide range of civil, criminal, and regulatory matters.
Her path runs deep in the law. Descended from a family of Puerto Rican judges, she graduated with honors from Harvard, earned her doctorate at Columbia Law School, and worked in private firms before entering the courts. Before her federal appointment she sat for almost a decade on the New York State Supreme Court. Earlier she served on the city’s civil and criminal benches.
New judge on the Maduro case is Analisa Torres, a Barack Obama appointee who took the bench in 2013. https://t.co/y37dLBuXia pic.twitter.com/YmbF6pAm7A
— Erik Uebelacker (@Uebey) October 28, 2026
The trial against the Venezuelan President and his wife remains set for June 14, 2027. The judge’s death did not alter that date, and the schedule already fixed by the court holds.
On October 15, President Maduro and Flores appeared at a judicial hearing in New York after prosecutors tightened the accusations against them. The two listened to the arguments and pleaded “not guilty” to the new charges of alleged conspiracy to commit torture brought by the U.S. Attorney’s office.
That same day Hellerstein accepted a request presented by both the prosecution and the defense to postpone the start of the trial by two weeks. The extra time allows both sides to present pretrial motions.
The next hearing was programmed for December 17. On that date the defense will argue its motions to dismiss the case. The outcome of those arguments could reshape the proceeding before it reaches a jury. President Maduro’s lawyers affirmed that sovereign immunity shields the President from prosecution in a foreign court.
Hellerstein’s career extended far beyond this single file. Over nearly three decades on the federal bench he supervised a wide variety of matters, including the litigation tied to the September 11 attacks.
That new judge will inherit the pretrial motions, the pending defense requests, and the responsibility of presiding over a trial that involves a sitting head of State and his spouse.
Venezuelan authorities have characterized the detention of President Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores as a kidnapping carried out during a military incursion into sovereign territory. The December 17 hearing stands as the next concrete step in a process scheduled to stretch into mid 2027.
On Monday, mexican authorities have reported the presumed death of Jesús González Peñuelas—known as ‘Chuy Peñuelas,’ an alleged operative for the Guasave Cartel—during a confrontation with personnel from the Mexican Navy in Sinaloa. The United States government had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.
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Omar García Harfuch, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, stated that González Peñuelas is believed to be one of two individuals who died during an operation near Alfredo V. Bonfil, in the municipality of Sinaloa. The identities of the deceased are still awaiting formal forensic confirmation.
According to the Mexican Navy, the operation was supported by naval intelligence, which helped locate vehicles carrying armed individuals. During the pursuit, two men exited a pickup truck and fled into a brush-covered area, from where they opened fire on the naval personnel.
The naval forces returned fire, and both men were killed in the exchange. Their bodies have been placed in the custody of judicial authorities.
Family members who contacted the authorities suggested that the deceased may be Jesús González Peñuelas and Cesáreo Peñuelas Ruiz—known as ‘El Profe’—who has been identified by federal sources as an alleged associate of González Peñuelas. Official identification will be established through genetic and fingerprint analysis.
Derivado de las acciones permanentes para reforzar las acciones y avanzar en la pacificación de Sinaloa, personal de Marina @SEMAR_mx realizó un operativo en las inmediaciones de la colonia Alfredo V. Bonfil, Sinaloa, donde fue agredido por integrantes de una célula criminal… pic.twitter.com/03vxvnfVfN
— Omar H Garcia Harfuch (@OHarfuch) October 28, 2026
The text reads, “Derived from the permanent actions to reinforce operations and advance the pacification of Sinaloa, personnel from the Navy. @SEMAR_mx conducted an operation in the vicinity of the Alfredo V. Bonfil neighborhood, Sinaloa, where they were attacked by members of a criminal cell and repelled the assault.”
During the operation, authorities seized four pickup trucks that had been reported stolen, as well as three long guns, three magazines, and 46 rounds of ammunition. The evidence has been turned over to the Attorney General’s Office (Fiscalía General de la República) for further investigation.
According to federal sources, González Peñuelas had led an organization since the beginning of the century dedicated to the production and distribution of methamphetamine, marijuana, and heroin. In recent years, the organization reportedly ventured into fentanyl trafficking.
It operated primarily in Sinaloa and Sonora, with connections along the northern border and distribution networks in U.S. states such as California, Texas, Colorado, and Washington. Authorities identified the individual as one of the key operatives for Fausto Isidro Meza Flores—known as “El Chapo Isidro”—the leader of the Guasave Cartel.
Federal sources also indicated that the organization maintained ties to drug trafficker Rafael Caro Quintero, who was extradited to the United States last year.
This development comes amid federal operations targeting criminal organizations in Sinaloa—a state that has faced a wave of violence since September 2024, following the outbreak of a conflict between factions of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed illicit drug production and consumption, stressing that consumption must be treated primarily as a public health matter rather than merely a law enforcement problem.
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) September 17, 2026
Sheinbaum emphasized the need to support youth and address the root… pic.twitter.com/XIhExrS8Qk
As vendas de flores e plantas ornamentais para o Dia de Finados, celebrado em 2 de novembro, devem crescer 5,2% em 2026, na comparação com o ano passado.
A estimativa é do Ibraflor (Instituto Brasileiro de Floricultura), que calcula que a data responda por cerca de 8% do comércio anual do setor.
Tradicionalmente associadas às homenagens nos cemitérios, as flores também vêm ganhando espaço em outros ambientes, como jardins, varandas e dentro das casas.
Essa vem sendo uma outra forma de preservar a memória de pessoas que morreram, levando as homenagens para espaços que fizeram parte da vida delas.
“A flor deixa de ser apenas uma homenagem no túmulo e passa a integrar o cotidiano da família, ao lado de fotografias, objetos e lembranças que ajudam a manter viva a história de quem morreu”, afirma Renato Opitz, diretor do Ibraflor.
Entre as espécies mais procuradas para o período estão crisântemos, kalanchoes, antúrios, rosas em vaso, rosas-do-deserto, violetas e orquídeas phalaenopsis.
No calendário cristão, o Dia de Finados é dedicado à memória dos mortos. A celebração ocorre em 2 de novembro, um dia após o Dia de Todos os Santos, e tem origem em uma tradição medieval associada ao monge beneditino Odilo, abade de Cluny, na França, que, em 998, instituiu orações pelos falecidos nos mosteiros ligados à sua ordem.
O costume de levar flores aos túmulos é anterior à própria celebração e está associado ao simbolismo das plantas, frequentemente relacionadas à vida, à renovação e à passagem do tempo.
No Brasil, a prática já era registrada no século XIX e permanece como uma das principais formas de expressar afeto e saudade na data.
The United States on Wednesday lifted sanctions against Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly and brother of the South American country’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, the Treasury Department reported.
“There is only one president in this country and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros,” Venezuela’s current interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, said on the same day as the U.S. attack that ended with the detention of the former chavista leader and his wife, Cilia Flores. Rodríguez described the military intervention in Caracas as an “illegal and illegitimate kidnapping of the president and first lady.” However, Venezuela later did not take any formal steps to demand the couple’s release or to request their immunity so they would not be tried in the United States.
© Jesus Vargas (Getty Images)
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