US EditionMaduro and Flores Argue US Sanctions Block Their Legal Defense in New York Court
Judge Alvin Hellerstein refused to dismiss narco-terrorism charges despite defense claims that U.S. sanctions block Venezuelan funds for legal fees, impacting the right to counsel.
- On Thursday, deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared in Manhattan federal court to challenge narco-terrorism charges and contest U.S. sanctions blocking their legal defense funding.
- U.S. special forces captured Maduro and Flores during a January 3 raid on their Caracas compound, transporting them to New York to face accusations of directing a cocaine-trafficking operation spanning over 25 years.
- Defense attorneys argue that the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control decision to revoke a license for legal fees violates the Sixth Amendment, preventing the couple from retaining their chosen counsel.
- Maduro and Flores remain detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn while Judge Alvin Hellerstein weighs dismissal motions; prosecutors maintain that sanctions regulations prohibit using government funds for legal fees.
- This court fight could reshape Venezuela's political balance as interim President Delcy Rodriguez dismantles the former socialist project, while U.S.-Venezuela relations undergo recalibration following Maduro's capture.
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386 Articles
Venezuela's former President Nicolás Maduro has to answer to court in New York. However, before the substance of the matter is dealt with, the trial is stalled. Reason is an unusual dispute over the financing of his defense.
Maduro Pleads Poverty in Battle Against U.S. Narco-Terrorism Charges.
PULSE POINTSWHAT HAPPENED: Former Venezuelan narco-dictator Nicolás Maduro appeared in a New York courtroom, seeking to have his drug trafficking and narco-terrorism indictment dismissed over his alleged inability to afford an attorney.WHO WAS INVOLVED: Nicolás Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, federal agents, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein, prosecutor Kyle Wirshba, and U.S. military forces.WHEN & WHERE: The hearing occurred on …
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro returned to a federal court in New York on Thursday, seeking to have the drug trafficking charges against him dismissed following his arrest in January during a…
The former president of Venezuela, who is being prosecuted for drug trafficking, appeared smiling in his grey inmate uniform. He did not speak.
Preşedintele venezuelean îndepărtat de la putere Nicolas Maduro a compărut zâmbind, joi, într-un tribunal, the New York, unde nu a luat cuvântul, în cea de a doua apariăie publică de la captorea sa spectaculoasă de către Statele Unite, relatează AFP.
The judge in charge of the case indicated that he did not intend to grant a request for the abandonment of the proceedings by the lawyers of the former president, on a question relating to the payment of their fees.
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