Maduro Lawyer Accuses US of Blocking Defense Funding

A lawyer for former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused the U.S. government on Wednesday of blocking Venezuela from paying his legal fees in a federal drug trafficking case in New York, arguing the move interferes with his constitutional right to counsel.

Barry Pollack, Maduro's lead attorney, outlined the issue in a letter dated February 20 to the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, known as OFAC. Maduro, 61, and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by U.S. military forces in a Caracas compound on January 3 and transported to the United States. They face charges in Manhattan federal court, including narcoterrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. Both have pleaded not guilty and are detained in a Brooklyn facility.

Pollack explained that OFAC initially granted a license on January 9 allowing Venezuela to cover Maduro's defense costs, given sanctions imposed on him and the Venezuelan government since 2019. However, the agency amended the license just three hours later, revoking authorization for payments from Venezuelan sources. Flores' lawyer, Mark E. Donnelly, received an unaltered...