Mexican President Addresses Ongoing Legal Proceedings in New York.
On Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that she “does not see why Venezuelan state funds cannot be used” for the defense of President Nicolas Maduro. She also mentioned that she has not yet had the opportunity to speak with Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez.
“It’s not that I don’t want to talk to her, but there simply hasn’t been the opportunity. But we can talk with her,” Sheinbaum said.
Previously, on March 26, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores appeared at their second hearing before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Manhattan.
During that proceeding, the motion filed by defense attorney Barry J. Pollack was addressed. He requested that the charges against the presidential couple be dismissed, arguing that the U.S. government is preventing Venezuela from financing Maduro’s defense.
The central argument of his motion was clear: Washington is violating the right to due process and the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees every defendant the right to effective legal representation.
If the U.S. government blocks access to that representation, then the case against President Maduro loses its constitutional basis. Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied the request to dismiss the case.
Nevertheless, he left open the possibility of revisiting his position in the future if he determines that the restriction was applied in an “arbitrary” manner, allowing defense attorneys to renew their motion to dismiss.
Meanwhile, the second hearing in the Manhattan court concluded without a new date being set to continue the proceedings.
On Monday, Sheinbaum also made clear that Mexico has rejected the U.S. intervention in Venezuelan territory carried out on Jan. 3, when Maduro and Flores were abducted.
On that occasion, bombings carried out by U.S. special forces left more than 100 people dead and a similar number injured. Among the victims were 32 Cuban combatants who were part of the Venezuelan president’s security detail.
(Telesur) by JF
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