If the determination is not complied with, the Court may impose sanctions against US authorities and even annul the charges against the former Venezuelan leader and his wife.
The senior judge from the Federal Court of the Southern District of New York, ordered on Monday (5) that the United States government send to the defense of the former leader of Venezuela and his wife, “information relevant to both guilt and punishment”. In the order, the judge announced that, if the North American authorities do not provide all the data they have, the Court could impose sanctions and even annul the charges. The information is from the newspaper OGlobo.
In the determination, Hellerstein said that the “obligation applies regardless of whether the defendant requests this information or whether it constitutes, in itself, admissible evidence.” This includes sending data that can use to challenge potential witnesses.
“[O governo norte-americano] has an affirmative obligation to seek all information subject to disclosure under this order from all current or former federal, state, and local prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and other officials who participated in the prosecution or investigation that led to the charge of the offense or offenses with which the defendants are charged,” the judge stated.
The senior judge added that “the government must disclose such information promptly after its existence becomes known, so that the defense can make effective use of it in preparing its case.” However, it considered that it may be requested to restrict data that could “compromise the safety of witnesses, victims’ rights or national security” and “any other substantial government interest”.
during a military operation carried out in the early hours of Saturday (3), in Caracas, Venezuela. They were sent to (MDC), in Brooklyn, USA.
According to a complaint formalized by the US Department of Justice, : narcoterrorism (and collusion to do so); conspiracy to traffic cocaine; possession of machine guns and explosive devices; conspired to possess weapons for use in drug trafficking.
Previously, the US government accused Maduro of heading the “Cartel de los Soles”, a criminal organization that would use drug trafficking from South America to the US as a tool to destabilize North American society. This Tuesday (6), the US and began to point to the former Venezuelan leader as someone who “participates, protects and perpetuates” a culture of state corruption aimed at illicit enrichment via drug trafficking.
The understanding of how the group works has also changed. Now the term is understood as a generic designation, or “umbrella”, used to describe a diffuse network of military, civilian and intelligence officials who profit from drug trafficking.
Experts on the subject already argued that the group did not operate with a rigid hierarchy, but as a “network of networks” that involved precisely the military and political sectors.
Despite the disagreement over his command position, there are indications that Maduro is one of the main beneficiaries of what experts call a “hybrid criminal governance” installed in Venezuela.
