Maduro and Cilia Flores, willing to present evidence that they cannot finance their defense

New York.- The deposed Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife Cilia Flores reiterated this Thursday before the federal court in New York that they do not have the resources to finance their defense in the drug trafficking case and stated that they are willing to present financial evidence if the judge requests it, to reinforce their request to dismiss the accusation.

Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores’ lawyers, Barry Pollack and Mark E. Donelly, stated in a document sent to the judge today, on behalf of their clients, that, according to the defense, the Prosecutor’s Office recognizes the right of both to request that the Government of Venezuela pay for their defense. In addition, they included sworn statements from Maduro and Flores in which they claim they cannot afford their lawyers and express their willingness to present financial evidence if the court requires it. This statement, presented today before the federal court of the Southern District of New York, comes just days before his next hearing, scheduled for the 26th of this month.

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The Venezuelan Government Cannot Pay Its Lawyers

So far, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), of the Department of the Treasury, which administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions, has not authorized the Government of Venezuela to pay its lawyers, which, they allege in a document sent to federal judge Alvin Hellerstein, interferes with the right of both to choose their own legal team.

OFAC has imposed economic sanctions on Venezuela since 2015 that sought to pressure Maduro to bring about a political change, and the U.S. Government does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela. In the filing, the defense highlights that the refusal to allow Venezuela to pay legal fees violates the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which establishes the right to choose counsel, and the Fifth Amendment, which protects due process. Lawyers also recall that OFAC has allowed on other occasions “that a third party subject to sanctions pay the legal fees of a person also sanctioned”, something they consider inconsistent with their case.

The Case of Maduro and Cilia Flores

They also point out that the government’s proposal that they accept a public defender “does not constitute a remedy at all,” since they would be forced to accept a defense they did not choose. “Forcing the accused to accept a court-appointed lawyer who is not of their choosing is not, by definition, a solution to the violation of their right to choose their own lawyer,” they state. You can also read: Marco Rubio appears on witness list in Miami case linked to Maduro Government For these reasons, the defense asks Judge Hellerstein to dismiss the charges for being a “constitutionally defective” process or to hold a hearing to discuss the case. «The only remedy is dismissal, given that this court cannot allow the present case to proceed in violation of the constitutional rights of Mr. Maduro and Mrs. Flores de Maduro», indicates the legal document.