Marco Mendicino has authored an op-ed titled “How Will the US Courts Judge Maduro? Look to the Precedent of Noriega,” published by CTV News. Writes Marco:
“The sensational arrest of Nicolas Maduro for conspiracy and narco-terrorism charges, contrary to the national security interests of the United States, was breathtaking by any measure. …
While the Maduro proceeding may seem extraordinary, it is not unprecedented. The US justice system confronted a strikingly similar case in the matter of Manuel Noriega, over 30 years ago. The key parallels are that Noriega was also a de facto Latin American ruler, never recognized as the head-of-state for Panama, arrested abroad during an American incursion, and tried in a US federal court for narcotics trafficking charges. As a modern analogue, the Noriega case sheds light as to how the courts today may dispose of the numerous legal issues Maduro is likely to raise in an effort to quash the indictment in which he is named.”
Marco goes on to outline three possible defences: Head-of-State immunity, unlawful capture and violation of Venezuelan sovereignty, and political purpose and regime change.