Due to “planning and logistical problems” the United States prosecutor’s office requested to postpone the second appearance of President Nicolás Maduro before the Federal Court in Manhattan (New York) led by Judge Alvin Hellerstein, the instance in which he is intended to be prosecuted.
The Southern District of New York prosecutor’s office attributed the extension to “scheduling and logistical problems,” a request accepted by the defense and approved by Judge Hellerstein, who set the date from March 17 to March 26.
Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, did not comment on the matter. Pollack is recognized for representing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
The aforementioned trial is due to the fact that, allegedly, the Venezuelan president and his wife are part of the alleged Cartel of the Suns, an organization from which the US Department of Justice withdrew its drug trafficking status, according to a resolution issued on January 6. Even that judicial body stopped identifying the President as the leader of that criminal denomination. Hence, in his first statement before Judge Hellerstein, he proclaimed his innocence and said: “I am the president of Venezuela and I consider myself a prisoner of war. I was captured in my home in Caracas.”
The TSJ said in its ruling No. 1 that the US attack “had the purpose of kidnapping constitutional president Nicolás Maduro.” l
