After Nicolás Maduro’s arraignment on U.S. drug‑trafficking charges, a dispute arose over which lawyer is authorized to represent him. Barry Pollack says Bruce Fein tried to join the defense without authorization; Fein says people close to Maduro sought his help and urged the judge to ask Maduro privately about his choice of counsel. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty after being seized by U.S. special forces days earlier.
Legal Tug‑of‑War Over Who Will Represent Nicolás Maduro in U.S. Drug‑Trafficking Case
FILE - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro raises up his closed fists during a news conference at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, July 31, 2024, three days after his disputed reelection. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Days after former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro was arraigned in New York on federal drug‑trafficking charges, a dispute erupted over who is authorized to represent him in the high‑profile case.
Defense attorney Barry Pollack, who sat beside Maduro at the arraignment, told Manhattan federal Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein that another lawyer, Bruce Fein, had attempted to join Maduro’s defense team without authorization. Fein — a former associate deputy U.S. attorney general in the Reagan administration — told the court he had been contacted by people he described as "credibly situated" within Maduro’s circle and asked to assist.
FILE - Barry Pollack arrives for opening arguments for the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange outside Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in south east London, Feb. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Competing Accounts
In a written declaration, Pollack said he tried by phone and email to reach Fein to ask on what basis Fein had sought to enter an appearance for Maduro, and what authorization he had to do so. Pollack said Fein did not respond, and that a subsequent phone call with Maduro confirmed that Maduro "does not know Mr. Fein and has not communicated with Mr. Fein, much less retained him, authorized him to enter an appearance, or otherwise hold himself out as representing Mr. Maduro." Pollack asked the judge to remove Fein from the court docket.
Fein, in turn, told the judge he did not contest Pollack’s factual account but urged the court to determine Maduro’s preference directly. Fein suggested that the judge interview Maduro privately to "definitively ascertain President Maduro's representation wishes," including whether he prefers Pollack, Fein or both.
In this courtroom sketch, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, left, and his wife, Cilia Flores, second from right, appear in Manhattan federal court with their defense attorneys Mark Donnelly, second from left, and Andres Sanchez, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Fein characterized Maduro’s capture and detention as occurring under "extraordinary, startling, and viperlike circumstances," citing restrictions on communications and the risk of misunderstandings given the foreign criminal process and language barriers.
Case Status
Pollack was the only attorney to appear for Maduro at the arraignment, where Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty to charges that they conspired with drug cartels to ship large quantities of cocaine to the United States. U.S. authorities say the couple were seized from their Caracas home by U.S. special forces two days before the arraignment.
Judge Hellerstein will need to resolve the competing claims over counsel and may question Maduro privately to clarify who he wants to represent him as the case proceeds.
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