Maduro’s lawyer says US is blocking Venezuela government from paying deposed leader’s drug defense
The Trump administration is blocking the Venezuelan government from paying the costs of defending Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro against drug trafficking charges in New York, potentially interfering with his constitutional right to counsel, his lawyer said.
The U.S. Treasury Department is blocking approval of legal fees that the Venezuelan government must pay for Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores under its own laws and customs, attorney Barry Pollack said in an email to a federal judge in Manhattan last week. The email was entered into public court records Wednesday.
Maduro and his wife have been jailed in New York without bail since they were seized by US military forces during a secret night raid from their home in Venezuela on January 3. Both pleaded not guilty.
The surprising capture, which followed a months-long military buildup in the Caribbean, paved the way for the Trump administration to wield enormous influence over Maduro’s replacement, Delcy Rodriguez, his vice president and now acting president. Under US pressure, Rodriguez moved quickly to open Venezuela’s oil industry to American investment, release political prisoners, and restore direct communication with Washington; This is something not seen since the first Trump administration closed the US embassy in Caracas in 2019.
In the email, Pollack said the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers sanctions against Venezuela, issued a warrant on Jan. 9 approving payment of the Venezuelan government’s attorney fees.
Less than three hours later, Pollack said, the Trump administration revoked a license allowing payments to Maduro’s wife’s lawyers, but left it in place “without explanation.”
The dispute over Maduro’s legal fees is closely tied to US foreign policy. The first Trump administration cut ties with Maduro in 2019 and recognized the then-National Assembly opposition leader as the legitimate leader of Venezuela. The Biden administration has also strictly adhered to the same policy.
But allowing Rodríguez’s government to pay for Maduro’s defense could complicate prosecutors’ efforts to counter arguments in court that the deposed leader’s capture was illegal and that he is accused of being the foreign head of a state. Immune from prosecution under U.S. and international law.
25-page indictment Against Maduro, they accused him and others of working with drug cartels and members of the military to facilitate drug shipments. thousands of tons of cocaine If convicted in the United States, he and his wife face life imprisonment.
As part of the alleged conspiracy, Maduro and his wife allegedly ordered the kidnapping, beating and killing of people who owed them money for drugs, according to the indictment. This was said to include the murder of a local drug kingpin in Caracas.
The Treasury Department, the White House and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Pollack said on February 11 that he asked the Office of Foreign Assets Control to return the original license, paving the way for Venezuela to fulfill its obligation to pay Maduro’s defense costs.
The lawyer added that Maduro “cannot otherwise afford to hire a lawyer” and will ask the judge for help to cover his defense costs.
Pollack said the United States was “interfering with Mr. Maduro’s ability to retain counsel and therefore his right under the Sixth Amendment to the attorney of his choice.”
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Goodman reported from Miami. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Fatima Hussein in Washington and Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this report.
