Overview
- Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ordered Tuesday that Maduro’s legal team cannot share discovery with any co-defendant who has not been arrested, saying such sharing is not needed to prepare the defense.
- The protective order cites risks to witness safety and the integrity of the investigation and bars access for Diosdado Cabello, Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, and Héctor “Niño” Guerrero.
- Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, remain in federal custody in Brooklyn after a January capture in Caracas, facing narcotrafficking, money laundering, and corruption charges to which they have pleaded not guilty.
- A separate question about who can pay the defense costs is still pending, as the defense says U.S. sanctions block Venezuelan government funds and the judge said he will decide soon.
- The case reaches into Venezuelan politics, where Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has served as acting leader past the initial 90-day window set after Maduro’s detention.