A Houston-based attorney is representing Cilia Flores, the wife of ousted Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro, who was captured by the U.S. during a military operation in Venezuela over the weekend. The couple, along with Maduro’s son and other Venezuelan officials, face criminal charges in New York.
Mark Donnelly of the Parker Sanchez & Donnelly law firm in Houston is representing Flores against the charges of drug trafficking and possession of machine guns and destructive devices, according to federal court records in the Southern District of New York.
Flores and Maduro appeared in court Monday in New York, where both pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. ABC Newsreportedthat Donnelly was next to Flores in court and that Flores told Judge Alvin Hellerstein that she is "completely innocent."
"We look forward to reviewing and challenging the evidence the government has," Donnelly wrote in an email Monday to Houston Public Media. "While we would love to present our side now, we will wait to do so in court at the appropriate time. The first lady is aware that there is a long road ahead and is prepared."
Donnelly did not provide details about how he became involved in the defense of Flores in a case that has international political implications.
Donnelly’s involvement is the latest Houston-area connection to the escalated tension between Maduro and U.S. President Donald Trump. The Trump administration in December seized an oil tanker near the coast of Venezuela and sent it to the Galveston area.
Six U.S.-based executives for Citgo, a Houston-based company that is a subsidiary of state-run Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), were imprisoned by Maduro’s regime during Trump’s first stint in the White House in 2017. The men were subsequently released in 2022 as part of a prisoner swap between Maduro and the administration of President Joe Biden.
Houston-based Chevron is the only American oil producer still operating in Venezuela.
During a Saturday news conference about Maduro’s capture, Trump mentioned the case of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old Houston girl who was murdered in 2024, allegedly by two men from Venezuela.
The Houston area also is home to the third-largest population of Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S., according to Migration Policy Institute. Some of them gathered in Katy over the weekend to celebrate Maduro’s capture, while others in the Houston region have rejected U.S. involvement in Venezuela.
RELATED: Celebrations, protests across Houston after U.S. operation in Venezuela
Donnelly is an attorney who specializes in white-collar criminal defense, according to his profile on the law firm's website.
A Houston native, Donnelly previously worked at the U.S. Department of Justice, serving as the senior advisor to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, according to the law firm. He also ran the Southern District's fraud division for more than two years.
Before joining the DOJ, Donnelly was a prosecutor with the Harris County District Attorney's Office for eight years, prosecuting cases ranging from DWI to capital murder and ultimately becoming a chief felony prosecutor.
In 2023, Donnelly was among the lawyers who assisted in the Texas House's investigation into Attorney General Ken Paxton before his impeachment trial in the Texas Senate, where Paxton was acquitted.
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