NEW YORK – He judge United States federal prosecutor in charge of the case against the deposed president of Venezuela, Nicolás Ripe, and his wife, Cilia Floresthis Tuesday prevented his defense from sharing the evidence of the case with other co-accused who have not yet been arrested, such as the Venezuelan Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Hair.
“The disclosure material may not be shared with any identified defendant who has not yet been detained in the framework of this proceeding, nor with the attorneys for said defendants,” said Alvin Hellerstein, federal judge of the Southern District Court of New York, in his response to the request made by the Prosecutor’s Office.
He added: “It is not necessary to share the disclosure material to prepare the defense.”
Prosecutor’s Office requested protection of evidence
Hellerstein accepted the request for protection from the Prosecutor’s Office a few days ago, in which He alleged that a protective order was necessary on all of the evidence due to the “risks” it could pose to the safety of witnesses and the integrity of the investigation..
The objective of this protection is to leave out of the material the three other defendants who are not detained by US justice, in addition to Cabello: Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, former Minister of the Interior; Nicolás Maduro Guerra, son of the former president; and Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, alias ‘Niño Guerrero’ and alleged leader of the criminal organization Tren de Aragua.
On March 26, Maduro and Flores appeared for the second time before US justice in the framework of their drug trafficking case, for which they have been in a Brooklyn prison since the beginning of the year, when they were detained by US forces.
In this session, the Prosecutor’s Office requested for the first time that information sharing with co-defendants not be allowed.
Hellerstein did not offer a response then about this request, nor about the United States sanctions on Venezuelan funds that, according to Maduro, prevent him from affording a defense.
The judge did refuse to dismiss the charges of narcoterrorism against the couple, as their lawyers requested, and called on the parties to promptly resolve the economic issue.
