Hellerstein, the 92-year-old judge who challenged Bush and will now be in charge of judging Maduro in New York

A central figure in New York justice for more than two decades, he is respected for his independence and his ability to unhesitatingly confront cases of maximum political and media sensitivity.

The son of Jewish immigrants from Russia, Hellerstein graduated with honors in Law from Columbia University in 1956, after obtaining his bachelor’s degree from the City College of New York. He began his career at the firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, where he specialized in commercial litigation and labor law. He remained there for more than 30 years before being nominated as a federal judge by President Bill Clinton in 1998a designation ratified that same year by the Senate.

Throughout his career in the Southern District Court, Hellerstein has handled emblematic matters, such as lawsuits arising from the 9/11 attacks or cases regarding the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraiba decision that brought him directly into conflict with the Government of George W. Bush, consolidating his reputation as a meticulous magistrate and resistant to the excesses of the executive branch.

Their resolutions usually combine a sober moral tone with a deep respect for the letter of the lawand has been described by those who know him as a “pragmatic originalist”: faithful to the classical interpretation of the Constitution, but sensitive to the human impacts of its rulings.

Appearance in New York

The Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, will appear this Monday for the first time before a federal court in New York, where they face various charges for drug trafficking and corruption. Both were captured early Saturday in Caracas by US forces in an unprecedented lightning operation and later transferred to New York, where pThey remain held in the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) of Brooklyn, a high-security federal prison.

Maduro is accused in the United States of four federal charges: narcoterrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess these same devices in support of criminal activities, as well as to collaborate with organizations classified as terrorist by Washington. Cilia Flores, for her part, faces charges linked to alleged logistical and financial support operations for the same criminal structure, according to court documents cited by US media.

Both will be brought before federal judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, the person in charge of the case, in Manhattan at 12:00 local time (17:00 GMT). In similar cases, the accused are usually initially presented before a judge for the formal reading of the charges, verification of their identity and the definition of preliminary aspects such as preventive detention or the appointment of lawyers.

Uncomfortable for power

Hellerstein does not arrive ‘virgin’ to issues that border on high politics and national security. He was the judge who handled a good part of the civil lawsuits arising from 9/11pushing for compensation agreements to be reached with victims and demanding transparency in processes.

He also signed orders that forced the Pentagon to reveal photographs and documents about the treatment of prisoners in Iraqagainst the Government’s criteria, relying on the right of access to public information.

In the criminal field, his career shows a mixture of harshness with serious crimes and scrupulous respect for due process. He is known for his long hearings, in which he directly interrogates the parties and forces prosecutors and defenses to justify each step.. Does not tolerate unjustified delays or delaying maneuversand has reprimanded both government lawyers and private defenders in court when he perceives a lack of rigor.

This style anticipates the first hearings in the Maduro case marked by extreme formality and the judge’s absolute control over the calendar and conditions of detention. Any attempt to transform the hearing into a political rally will probably clash with the firmness of Hellerstein, accustomed to managing cases with enormous media exposure.

Lead a drug trafficking network

Maduro had already been indicted in Manhattan in March 2020in a case based on an investigation by the DEA anti-drug agency in which charges related to narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine and crimes with weapons and destructive devices already appeared. The same Saturday that Maduro and his wife were arrested, the court made public an accusation presented by the Prosecutor’s Office that expands that of 2020 and once again identifies him as the leader of a drug trafficking and narcoterrorism network that for more than two decades would have used the Venezuelan State to introduce large quantities of cocaine into the United States.

The accusation, known as “substitutionary imputation”, charges Cilia Flores and one of the couple’s children for the first time. In total, there are six people charged: in addition to Maduro and Flores, it includes Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra, son of the president and his wife; Diosdado Cabello Rondón, Minister of the Interior and key figure of Chavismo; Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, former Minister of the Interior; and Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, leader of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang.

The document indicates that Maduro headed the drug trafficking organization Poster of the Sunsthe name used to refer to the Venezuelan military high command. Under his leadership, the brief maintains, the organization not only sought to enrich itself and consolidate its political power, but also to “flood” the United States with cocaine and “use the drug as a weapon” against that country.

According to estimates cited in the indictment, the State Department calculated that by 2020 between 200 and 250 tons of cocaine transited through Venezuelan territory each year towards the United States. Prosecutors describe alliances with the FARC, the ELN, the Sinaloa cartel, the Zetas and the Tren de Aragua criminal gang, as well as the use of diplomatic passports, airports controlled by authorities and maritime routes protected by state forces to move drugs.

On that board, it will be Alvin K. Hellerstein, the nonagenarian judge from Manhattan with a reputation for being uncomfortable with power, who will decide when and how the Venezuelan president who for years challenged American justice from Caracas sits on the bench.