New York.- The judge presiding over the trial against the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, rejected the request from their defenders to dismiss the drug trafficking case.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein stated: «I am not going to ignore the case,» during the second hearing against Maduro and Flores, who face charges of drug trafficking and corruption by the US justice system. Additionally, the judge indicated that he does not see Maduro as «a threat to the national security» of the United States, as he is in custody in the country.Hellerstein’s assessment has an impact on the reasons why US sanctions are imposed on Maduro, as well as on Venezuelan funds that, according to the accused, prevent him from financing his defence.
Maduro and Flores are sitting alongside their legal team and using headphones to listen to the translation of what is being discussed in the hearing, according to reports from CNN.
One of Maduro and Flores’ lawyers, Barry Pollack, informed the judge that their clients cannot afford their defence and argued that «they have the right to use» resources from the Venezuelan government, as reported by the network. Recently, the couple’s defence requested the judge to dismiss the charges, arguing that the US government presented them in a single paragraph without considering any text prior to «(EFE)».
