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The Venezuelan Minister of Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, confirmed this Friday that the ousted president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, received their first consular visit following their capture and transfer to a prison in the United States, where they face federal charges, including drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.
"He already had his first consular visit, it was granted to him. There he speaks with one of our officials from Venezuela, and he can express anything he wishes to express," Cabello stated without specifying the exact date during a ceremony for the delivery of police patrols in the state of Miranda, near Caracas, reported the news agency EFE.
Maduro and Flores were arrested on January 3 during a U.S. military operation in Caracas, after which they were transferred to New York and held in a federal prison in Brooklyn as part of a criminal process that includes multiple charges, including conspiracy to traffic cocaine into the North American country.
Cabello, regarded as one of the leading figures of chavismo, denied the accusations and reiterated that the Venezuelan government undertakes "daily" efforts to achieve the couple's release.
"There is not a day when an effort is not made to get Nicolás and Cilia back," the official stated.
However, it did not specify what specific measures have been undertaken or how the diplomatic negotiations between Caracas and Washington are progressing.
A document from the Southern District of New York's Prosecutor's Office indicates that Maduro and Flores met on January 30 with "an official representing the Republic of Venezuela to assist the defendants with any services they required," thereby complying with a court order that mandated the facilitation of access to consular services following their initial court appearance.
The next hearing for both is scheduled for March 26 at 11:00 a.m., after the Prosecutor's Office requested to postpone the previous date to gather more evidence and allow the defense time to review it.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein granted the postponement "in the interest of justice," as stated in the case file.
Maduro has declared himself innocent of the charges and refers to himself as "a prisoner of war," while U.S. justice continues to keep the case open with multiple charges that could carry severe penalties if guilt is proven.
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