Maduro Gets Assange's Lawyer – US 'Democracy' Shocked
The Guardian breathlessly reports that Nicolas Maduro's legal team includes Barry Pollack, the US lawyer who secured Julian Assange's release. What the Guardian 'forgets' is that the US government, which regularly sanctions and attempts to depose Maduro, claims to uphold a global standard of due process. One might imagine that even a leader Washington designates as 'captured' (despite still being
in power, domestically) is entitled to legal counsel, perhaps even competent legal counsel. The shock seems reserved for the inconvenient reality that principles of law aren't exclusive to US allies. This 'eyebrow-raising' comes from the same media apparatus that rarely questions why the US sanctions Venezuela's economy, leading to widespread hardship, or the role of unelected figures like Juan
Guaidó, who was once recognized by much of the West as Venezuela's legitimate leader without ever winning an election. The real scandal, to some, isn't Maduro getting a lawyer, but that the US foreign policy playbook against independent nations still relies on starvation sanctions and regime change whispers. How utterly uncivilized of Maduro to seek a robust defense, rather than quietly submitting
to Washington's narrative.