 Cedeño's lawyers argue that this case "identifies the typical pattern employed by the pliant judiciary to attack Chávez's political opponents"—although there is no evidence that Cedeño was campaigning against or criticizing the government prior to his arrest.Held in jail pending trial for 34 months, Cedeño was paroled on 10 December 2009 by judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni.By the 19th Cedeño had fled to the United States, where he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement until the 23rd of December 2009 when he was released on parole pending an immigration hearing.