Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, attended a court hearing in New York with the aim of overcoming the memory of his own rage upon seeing Maduro in person. "When Maduro said he was still the president of Venezuela and a man of God, I felt a lot of anger and couldn't control my reaction," recounted an attendee from the courthouse cafeteria.
"Many of us ended up in prison because of the Maduro government," he stated, mentioning his own detention in Zulia state and being subjected to electric shocks. "This hearing is a form of justice." The atmosphere was a far cry from the presidential pomp Maduro was once accustomed to. Eight years ago in Caracas, he was surrounded by honor guards and judges bowing in reverence. Now, in a New York courtroom, he wore only prison khakis, a t-shirt, and headphones.
Flores's lawyer revealed she has a "mitral valve prolapse" and requires an echocardiogram. A key legal question is who will pay for their defense. Their lawyers have asked the court to allow the Venezuelan government to cover their legal fees, arguing that their constitutional right to choose their own counsel is fundamental. The judge has reserved his decision on this motion.
