Oct. 15 — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros and First Combatant Cilia Adela Flores were brought to a federal court in Manhattan this morning shackled and defiant. Facing Judge Alvin Hellerstein, both prisoners of war were arraigned on phony charges of torture. Neither is even accused of torturing anyone. They declared themselves innocent.
The week before this same judge rejected Cilia Flores request to be placed under house arrest because of her deteriorating health, which includes an untreated possible heart attack. Isn’t that torture?
The same Trump regime that kidnapped President Maduro and First Combatant Flores on Jan. 3 has killed at least 238 people on the high seas for allegedly being drug traffickers. No evidence was produced, no trials were held and those accused died horrible, painful deaths.
That’s not just torture committed by the Pentagon. These lethal attacks were lynchings.
These new torture charges are being brought because the United States government’s case against Maduro and Flores as drug kingpins may be crumbling. Jason Richman, who supervised this case as national security co-chief in the federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan, suddenly resigned on Sept. 25.
The Cartel de los Soles — Cartel of the Suns — which Maduro and Flores were allegedly involved in, doesn’t exist. Even the Justice Department quietly dropped that claim from its rewritten indictment in January. Meanwhile, Trump pardoned an actual drug lord, the former right-wing president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández.
Both Maduro and Flores appeared in court dressed in their prison uniforms. Their jailers couldn’t take away their dignity.
This writer was part of a delegation in the courtroom that wore red to show our support. Its organizer was Lucy Pagoada, who is co-host of the Voices of Resistance radio program that runs on New York’s WBAI (99.5 FM), on Tuesdays at 7 p.m.
Before President Maduro was seated, he turned around and raised his hands together in a gesture of strength. When Judge Hellerstein asked for his plea, Nicolás Maduro declared the charges false.
“I have seen [this indictment] in its entirety,” he said. “I reject this document in its entirety.” Representing President Maduro is Barry Pollack, while Mark Donnelly is Cilia Flores’ attorney.
Judge Hellerstein has set the tentative trial date for June 2027, when he will be 93 years old.
After the court appearance, supporters went outside the Moynihan federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan — named for the pig who advised President Nixon to show “benign neglect” towards Black people — to talk to the media. They were able to get the truth out despite the presence of counterrevolutionaries.
These characters want to turn back the clock in Venezuela and have the country once again become a United States oil colony. They attacked reporters for teleSUR, who were able to defend themselves.
Remember the Panther 21!
Back in 1969, 21 members of the Black Panther Party in New York City were indicted on over 200 charges. These ridiculous counts included attempting to blow up a Macy’s department store.
Because of a massive defense campaign, a jury acquitted the Panthers of all charges. We need to build such an effort to free President Nicolás Maduro and First Combatant Cilia Flores.
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