New York.- The upcoming hearing for the deposed president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, scheduled for June 30, was postponed until July 22, as requested by the federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton.
The Prosecutor’s Office, with the approval of the defense attorneys, requested the postponement from the case judge, Alvin K. Hellerstein, in a letter sent this Monday, in which it argued that the change of date is necessary “to avoid logistical and scheduling problems in relation to the provision of secure transport and security for June 30th”.
Furthermore, it was indicated in the letter that the Government will exclude for both defendants the days between June 30 and the new hearing date from the period established by the Speedy Trial Act.
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He also stated that this new date will allow the Prosecutor’s Office to present evidence to support its accusation against the couple and for the defense to review said evidence and consider what pre-trial motions it plans to file.
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The judicial process
Maduro and Flores were arrested in Venezuela on January 3rd in a military operation ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump and have since been in a federal prison in New York facing their judicial process, after being accused of narcoterrorism, conspiring to export drugs to this country, and the use of weapons.
Both pleaded not guilty to the charges and their defense may be funded by the Venezuelan government after scoring a victory in that regard, since the U.S. government opposed it, but the judge prohibited the defense from sharing evidence of the case with other co-defendants who have not yet been arrested, such as the Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabello.
