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New Delhi: Captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is being represented by a powerful legal defence team with a track record of winning high-profile federal trials. Maduro has appointed renowned US-based attorney Barry J. Pollack to represent him in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. He has been charged with serious offences, including narco-terrorism and drug-trafficking in the United States.
The case, formally titled USA v. Carvajal-Barrios, is being heard by veteran District Judge Alvin Hellerstein. Pollack is known for winning complex defence cases. His legal approach is expected to involve arguments related to sovereign immunity, as Maduro continues to claim the presidency despite the appointment of an acting leader. The defence may also challenge the prosecution on grounds of selective or politically motivated charges.
Pollack has been practising law for over three decades and has won some of the most politically sensitive cases. He previously represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, negotiating the plea agreement that secured Assange’s release from prison last year, ending a prolonged legal standoff with US authorities. A partner at Harris, St Laurent & Wechsler, Pollack has earned a reputation for succeeding in cases many consider impossible to win. His courtroom victories include the full acquittal of a former Enron executive accused of criminal fraud following the energy giant’s collapse.
Pollack’s expertise is not limited to high-profile trials but also extends to national security-related cases. He played a key role in overturning the wrongful conviction of Martin Tankleff, who spent more than a decade in prison for a double murder he did not commit. Pollack later represented Tankleff in a civil lawsuit that resulted in a $13.4 million compensation settlement.
Meanwhile, Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, will be represented by Mark Donnelly, a former US Justice Department prosecutor, who has formally notified the court of his involvement in the case.
Maduro and Flores were produced before a Manhattan federal court on charges including narco-terrorism and drug-trafficking conspiracies. Both entered not-guilty pleas, days after US Special Forces captured Maduro in Caracas in what Washington described as its biggest Latin American intervention since 1989.
