{"id":2530747,"date":"2026-01-06T20:16:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T01:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maduro-hires-reagan-era-doj-attorney-in-narco-terrorism-case\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T20:17:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T01:17:56","slug":"maduro-hires-reagan-era-doj-attorney-in-narco-terrorism-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maduro-hires-reagan-era-doj-attorney-in-narco-terrorism-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Maduro hires Reagan-era DOJ attorney in narco-terrorism case"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmaduro-hires-reagan-era-doj-attorney-in-narco-terrorism-case%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2530747&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Nicolas Maduro has been captured, transferred to new York, and arraigned on sweeping federal charges-<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nicolas-maduro-to-deploy-4-5-million-militia-members-after-us-raises-bounty-for-his-arrest\/\" title=\"... to deploy 4.5 million militia members after US raises bounty for his arrest\">including narcoterrorism conspiracy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-rally-around-trump-after-maduro-capture-as-democrats-cry-foul-over-its-legality\/\" title=\"Republicans rally around Trump after ... c...ture as Democrats cry foul over its legality\">cocaine importation conspiracy<\/a>, and firearms offenses-with prosecutors alleging he used the Venezuelan state for decades to facilitate drug trafficking and terrorism. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty and Maduro insisted he remains Venezuela&#8217;s legitimate president, saying he was &#8220;kidnapped.&#8221; Reagan-era Justice Department official Bruce Fein has joined Maduro&#8217;s legal team,filing an appearance after criticizing U.S. actions toward Venezuela and calling asset seizures &#8220;acts of war.&#8221; Washington defense attorney Barry Pollack, known for representing Julian Assange, also entered an appearance for Maduro; Flores is represented by former DOJ prosecutor mark E. Donnelly. The indictment names several others, including Maduro&#8217;s son and the leader of the Tren de Aragua gang. The next court date is March 17, and a trial is not expected for at least a year.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Maduro hires Reagan-era DOJ attorney in narco-terrorism case<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2464847\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Captured former Venezuelan dictator <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nicolas-maduro\">Nicolas Maduro<\/a> has added Bruce Fein, a former <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/doj\/\">Justice Department<\/a> official from former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ronald-reagan\">Ronald Reagan<\/a>&lsquo;s administration, to his legal team as he <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >faces sweeping narco-terrorism<\/a> and weapons charges in federal court in New York.<\/p>\n<p>Fein entered an appearance on Maduro&rsquo;s behalf in a court filing Tuesday, one day after Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty during a brief arraignment before U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FILE &ndash; Bruce Fein testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 1, 2009. (AP Photo\/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At the hearing, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/4406772\/maduro-pleads-not-guilty-new-york-drug-charges\/\">Maduro declared himself a &ldquo;decent man&rdquo;<\/a> and claimed he had been &ldquo;kidnapped&rdquo; from his home in Caracas, insisting he remains Venezuela&rsquo;s legitimate president. U.S. authorities captured Maduro over the weekend and transferred him to New York to face prosecution.<\/p>\n<p>Fein served as Associate Deputy Attorney General and as General Counsel to the Federal Communications Commission during the Reagan administration. He has testified before Congress more than 200 times and has long positioned himself as a civil libertarian critic of U.S. national security policy.<\/p>\n<p>He previously represented Lon Snowden, the father of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, and served as a senior policy adviser to Ron Paul&rsquo;s 2012 presidential campaign. In an interview published Tuesday by <em>Al Jazeera<\/em>, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/1\/6\/maduro-says-hes-a-prisoner-of-war-why-that-matters\">Fein sharply criticized the Trump administration&rsquo;s actions<\/a> toward Venezuela, calling the seizure of Venezuelan oil assets and the displacement of the country&rsquo;s sovereignty &ldquo;acts of war.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Maduro was represented at Monday&rsquo;s hearing by<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4406577\/seven-things-criminal-case-against-nicolas-maduro-cilia-flores\/\"> Washington defense attorney Barry Pollack<\/a>, who also entered a formal appearance shortly before the proceeding.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4409022\/trump-options-military-acquire-greenland\/\">Trump weighing &#8216;range of options,&#8217; including military force, to acquire Greenland<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4409129\/trump-venezuela-turn-over-sanctioned-oil\/\">Trump says Venezuela to turn over up to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/in_focus\/4408023\/democrat-knee-jerk-cynicism-exposed-venezuela-incoherence\/\">Democrats&rsquo; knee-jerk cynicism exposed on Venezuela incoherence<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FILE &ndash; Barry Pollack arrives for opening arguments for the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange outside Belmarsh Magistrates&rsquo; Court in south east London, Feb. 25, 2020. (AP Photo\/Matt Dunham, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Pollack is best known for representing WikiLeaks founder <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/julian-assange\/\">Julian Assange<\/a> and negotiating Assange&rsquo;s 2024 plea deal with the Justice Department, which resulted in Assange&rsquo;s immediate release after pleading guilty to a single felony count under the Espionage Act.<\/p>\n<p>Pollack is a past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, a partner at Harris St. Laurent &amp; Wechsler, and an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law. Earlier in his career, he represented Enron executive Michael Krautz, who was acquitted after a second trial, and Martin Tankleff, who successfully overturned a wrongful murder conviction.<\/p>\n<p>Assange had ignited a global controversy in 2010 after WikiLeaks published classified U.S. military and diplomatic material leaked by Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">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)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Maduro, and five others included in the indictment, face four federal charges, including narcoterrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and firearms offenses. Prosecutors allege he leveraged the power of the Venezuelan government for more than 25 years to facilitate drug trafficking and terrorism for the benefit of himself and his allies.<\/p>\n<p>The indictment also names Flores, Maduro&rsquo;s son, the leader of the Tren de Aragua gang, and two other defendants.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4407642\/understanding-trump-maduro-capture-mission-law-enforcement-operation\/\">WHY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS CALLING THE MADURO MISION A &lsquo;LAW ENFORCEMENT OPERATION&rsquo;<br \/><\/a><\/strong><br \/>Flores is represented by Houston attorney Mark E. Donnelly, a former Justice Department prosecutor and partner at Parker S&aacute;nchez &amp; Donnelly, a boutique white-collar defense firm. Donnelly entered his appearance Monday morning following the couple&rsquo;s capture during the overnight operation.<\/p>\n<p>The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 17. A trial is not expected to begin for at least a year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maduro hires Reagan-era DOJ lawyer in narco case<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2530748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26006782443933.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[36244,36612,65371,70272,50813],"class_list":["post-2530747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-drug-trafficking","tag-maduro","tag-narco-terrorism","tag-reagan-era-doj-attorney","tag-venezuela-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26006782443933.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2530747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2530747"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2530747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2530751,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2530747\/revisions\/2530751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2530748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2530747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2530747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2530747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}