Venezuela hires Amsterdam & Partners to fight US sanctions

Venezuela’s government has hired Washington, DC-based law firm Amsterdam & Partners to defend the country against US sanctions and human rights violations, according to media reports.

Amsterdam & Partners is reportedly taking over as the legal representative of the government of President Nicolás Maduro, after law firm Foley & Lardner,backed out of a $12.5 million, five-month contract after Republican senator Rick Scott urged his Senate colleagues to boycott the firm, according to the Associated Press.

In a filing with the US Justice Department on February 21, Foley & Lardner said it had transferred to Amsterdam & Partners all funds, which total a little more than $1 million, that it has received from its client. 

Amsterdam & Partner’s partner Bob Amsterdam (pictured) declined to comment on the nature of work for Maduro’s inspector General Reinaldo Muñoz, other than saying it would focus on sanctions and human rights issues, according to AP.

Amsterdam said that the same US sanctions on the Maduro government put strict limits on what he can say and do on behalf of his client.