Jay Clayton, the prosecutor in the case of the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and the First Lady, Cilia Flores, informed District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein that last January 30 took place the consular visit requested and agreed upon at the hearing on January 5.
The request is based on the guarantees established in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which establishes the right to contact with designated diplomatic officials.
President Maduro and Parliamentarian Cilia Flores requested the right to receive consular assistance at the first hearing before a federal court in the Southern District of New York, after being kidnapped on January 3 amidst the United States military aggression against Venezuelan territory.
Following the request, the Court had ordered the U.S. government to facilitate access to consular services for the Head of State and his wife, and to inform the Court when it had done so.
President Nicolás Maduro’s second appearance before the Federal Court in Manhattan (New York), presided over by Judge Alvin Hellerstein, was postponed until March 26 due to planning and logistical issues, at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.