The nephews of the Venezuelan first lady will be allowed to wear ties instead of shackles in court at their drug trial.
Barring a last-minute plea deal, the jury trial for Efrain Campo Flores, 29, and Francisco Flores de Freitas, 30, will begin on Nov. 7. They have been charged with conspiring to smuggle 800 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.
The high-profile case against the nephews of Cilia Flores has stressed already sensitive relations between the United States and Venezuela. Flores, a lawyer and leader in the General Assembly, accused U.S. agents of kidnapping her nephews. Her husband, President Nicolás Maduro, has called the U.S. drug charges a conspiracy.
U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty of the Southern District of New York will permit defense attorney Randall Jackson to provide civilian clothes for the pair so they don’t have to wear prison uniforms or shackles.
“The [Metropolitan Correctional Center] shall admit through Mr. Jackson or his representative,at least 4 dress shirts, 2 pairs of slacks, 2 ties, 2 sweaters, 1 belt, 1 pair of dress shoes and 5 pairs of socks, or any necessary alternative court clothing defense counsel may provide,” Crotty wrote in the Oct. 20 order.
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