| Maduro and
Wife Pled Not Guilty Now Move to Strike
Appearance of Bruce Fein
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Jan 8 – First Cliver Antonio
Alcala Cordones was charged as
part of a wide indictment of
the Venezuelan "Cartel de Los
Soles" and Colombia's
FARC. Then El Pollo,
brought to New York on July
20, 2023, see below.
On January 3,
2026 Nicolas Maduro and his
wife were taken out of
Venezuela and flown into
Stewart International Airport
in New York. A crowd gathered
on Worth Street, celebrating
the arrest. From the UN,
different sounds (although no
one knew where UNSG Antonio
Guterres was).
On January 5
Inner City Press live tweeted
the not guilty pleas and more,
here
Maduro said he is head of
state, motions are expected.
Cilia Flores has bruised ribs,
her retained lawyer said. Next
is March 17.
More on Jan 6 on
X for Subscribers here
and Substack here
On January 8,
Maduro's lawyer Barry Pollack
moved to strike the appearance
of second lawyer Bruce Fein,
saying Maduro didn't ask Fein
to represent him.
Back on
June 7, 2021 U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York Judge
Alvin K. Hellerstein held a
proceeding. Inner City Press
covered it.
The
indictment cites Nicolas
Maduro, and said he
"coordinated foreign affairs
with Honduras and other
countries to facilitate
large-scale drug
trafficking."
Jump cut
to November 30, 2022, when not
only the UN's Antonio Guterres
but now the Administration in
Washington, eager for oil, has
taken a different view of
Maduro. But the case goes
forward - in a pre-trial
proceeding attended by Inner
City Press, the US asked for a
July 2023 trial date and got
one, July 10 - threadette:
OK - now at
Venezuela narco case of US v.
Carvajal-Barrios, et al.,
proceeding delayed for some by
lack of interpreter....
Asst US
Attorney says wants July trial
date for today's defendant
Cliver Antonio Alcala Cordones
- but DOJ is still providing
discovery from another case.
Judge says July
10 trial, "no adjournments."
Then, guilty
plea- of Cliver Cordonez on
June 29.
On January 8,
2023 Cliver's lawyer wrote it
noting that Cliver only pled
to providing aid to the FARC
when he was a general. He
asked for 72 months as a
sentence.
On January 15,
MLK Day, the US Attorney's
Office wrote in asking for 360
months: 30 years.
On January 18,
the sentencing was scheduled
but did not happen. Rather, a
fact-finding Fatico hearing
was set: "Status Conference as
to Cliver Antonio Alcala
Cordones held on 1/18/2024.
Sentencing began... Sentencing
is adjourned; Fatico hearing
is scheduled for 2/27/24-
2/28/24 at 10:00am."
In the hall
it was said Cliver must be
disappointed that drugs are
still in the case, at least at
sentencing.
On March 11,
after the Fatico hearing(s),
Alcala filed again,
specifically dissing the
witness with the pseudonym
Jorge Leon, saying he is a
"well paid DEA informant
($45,000 to date, with a
$3,000 monthly stipend since
May 2023." Alcala also
attacked the credibility of
Antonio Arvelaiz, who also
testified in SDNY against
Carlos Orense. The defense
says Orense was not a witness
at the Fatico hearing; DOJ
says that the FRE do not apply
at Fatico hearings, where
hearsay can be considered. The
sentencing wasvpushed back
again.
On April 4, Judge
Hellerstein ruled that Alcala
did help the FARC's narco
trafficking. He wrote that
"Arguments with respect to the
above findings can be made at
the inception of the
sentencing hearing, previously
scheduled for April 8, 2024 at
10 a.m. The following edits
shall be made to the
transcript at ECF No. 154: At
12:6, the transcript shall say
"base level is 26." At 13:4,
13:9, and 13:25, references to
criminal history "IV" shall be
changed to "VI." SO ORDERED.
(Signed by Judge Alvin K.
Hellerstein on 4/4/2024)."
On April 8,
Alcala spoke against Maduro,
after which Judge Hellerstein
sentenced him to 260 months.
Thread here
On June 25 El
Pollo pled guilty, and the
trial was canceled: "former
Venezuelan general HUGO
ARMANDO CARVAJAL BARRIOS,
a/k/a “El Pollo,” pled guilty
before U.S. District Judge
Alvin K. Hellerstein to
conspiracy to import cocaine
into the United States,
engaging in narco-terrorism
for the benefit of the Fuerzas
Armadas Revolucionarias de
Colombia (the “FARC”), and
related weapons offenses."
On November 4 the
US Attorney's Office wrote in
seeking to push sentencing
back to late January 2026 to
allow for a Fatico hearing, as
the defense is contesting
"nearly the entirety of the
offense level calculations."
On November 5, "
Sentencing is adjourned to
Jan. 12, 2026, 10:30 a.m., and
day to day thereafter until
concluded., as to Hugo Armando
Carvajal-Barrios. ( Sentencing
set for 1/12/2026 at 10:30 AM
before Judge Alvin K.
Hellerstein. )(Signed by Judge
Alvin K. Hellerstein on
11/5/2025)
More details on X
for Subscribers here
and Substack (with Spanish) here
The case is US v.
Carvajal Barrios, et al.,
11-cr-205 (Hellerstein)
***
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