American lawyer Barry Pollack•©️The Times
Washington, 7 January 2026.- Used to the most sensitive criminal cases, American lawyer Barry Pollack, 61, was chosen to defend former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, accused in the United States of « narcoterrorist conspiracy ». Recognized figure of the New York Bar Association and former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He was illustrated in 2024 by negotiating the release of Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, after more than a decade of legal proceedings. A strategic choice in a context of strong diplomatic tensions between Washington and Caracas.
A graduate of Indiana University and Georgetown Law School, Pollack has built a reputation for defending clients involved in complex cases involving financial crime, national security and political issues. At the first appearance of Nicolás Maduro before a federal court in New York in January 2026, he immediately challenged the legality of his client's arrest, denouncing an operation carried out by US forces outside any legal framework.
Nicolás Maduro continues to face heavy US charges of drug trafficking, narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, arms offences and violations of economic sanctions. The accusations that Caracas rejects as a whole, calling them politically motivated, in a case where criminal justice, geopolitical rivalries and diplomatic arms intertwine between the United States and Venezuela.
R.J.
