A Korean American attorney has joined the defense team of a former Venezuelan general who has recently emerged as a key witness in a case connected to President Nicolás Maduro, according to confirmation by The Korea Daily.
The defense team for Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios recently included Korean American attorney Sandi Rhee. Carvajal, regarded as one of Maduro’s closest associates, has been pursued by federal authorities for nearly 20 years on allegations that he managed drug trafficking operations. In a phone call on January 14, Rhee said Carvajal, who is detained at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center in New York, contacted her directly after being referred by another client. She said she agreed to represent him after several meetings.
Carvajal, also known as El Pollo or Chicken, has been identified as a central figure underlying the U.S. federal government’s effort to pursue the arrest of President Maduro and his wife. He is considered a powerful insider deeply involved in operating the drug trafficking organization known as the Cartel de los Soles. During the administration of former president Hugo Chávez, Carvajal served as head of the country’s military intelligence agency.
“Carvajal is someone close to the truth inside the regime,” Rhee said, adding that the extent of his cooperation could vary depending on the sentencing deal proposed by prosecutors. She said that allegations currently raised against Carvajal rely more heavily on circumstantial evidence than on physical evidence such as genetic material or call records, and that the defense PLANS to clearly address those issues.
A 26-year veteran attorney specializing in drug-related crimes, Rhee has handled numerous criminal cases, including that of senior Mexican cartel figure Juan Manuel Abouzaid El Bayeh. She is also known to be fluent in Spanish.
BY KYEONGJUN KIM [kim.kyeongjun1@koreadaily.com]
