Nicolas Maduro Guerra, son of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, told Russia Today that his father’s trial is politically motivated, stressing that prosecutors do not have any evidence to prove Maduro Sr.’s involvement in any crime.
“There is nothing that shows that Maduro and Celia Flores committed any crime,” Guerra added, referring to the case against them.
He explained that the defense team had asked the judge to reject the case, but his request was rejected, citing the inability to pay the legal fees at the present time, and calling on the government to find a solution in the absence of alternatives.
“The defense’s arguments were innovative, while the prosecution has none. There is no evidence, because nothing indicates that Nicolas Maduro and Celia Flores committed any crime,” Guerra stressed, adding that the next step is to determine the defense strategy.
Maduro’s defense lawyers had submitted a request to stop the prosecution against him, citing a violation of the constitutional right to choose a lawyer, due to the US authorities preventing payment of the costs of legal services as a result of the sanctions imposed on Venezuela.
Although a US court last week rejected the defense’s request to close the case due to sanctions that impede the use of Venezuelan funds to pay legal fees, the court acknowledged that “the prosecution presented unreasonable arguments.”
The US authorities have continued to detain Maduro and his wife in New York since January 3, following a surprise US military operation, based on charges related to “drug-related terrorism,” charges he strongly denies.
Maduro is held in a solitary cell inside a prison in Brooklyn, which is considered among the largest prisons in the United States, and is famous for its poor sanitary conditions and administrative gaps, as he is not allowed to access the Internet or newspapers, according to reports.
A source close to the Venezuelan government stated that Maduro reads the Bible, and some prisoners call him “the president,” explaining that he is not allowed to communicate by phone with his family and his lawyer except for a limited period not exceeding 15 minutes per call.
