Maduro lawyer claims US blocking Venezuela from paying fees

A lawyer for Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has said that the United States is preventing the Venezuelan government from paying his legal defense fees in a high-profile criminal case, according to court filings and company statements.

In a letter filed in U.S. federal court, Maduro’s attorney, Barry Pollack, said that the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) initially granted a licence on Jan. 9 allowing Venezuela’s government to transfer funds to cover his legal costs. But the licence was amended later that same day to revoke the authorisation for those payments, a move Pollack says effectively prohibits Maduro from funding his own defence.

Pollack argued the decision could undermine Maduro’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel of his choice in what has become one of the most closely watched criminal prosecutions involving a foreign head of state. He said he may ask a federal judge to intervene and compel the administration to reinstate the licence so funds can be transferred.

Maduro, who was abducted in a controversial U.S. military operation in early January and transported to New York, is being held in a federal detention center while awaiting trial. He and his wife, Cilia Flores, were indicted by U.S. prosecutors on charges including cocaine importation conspiracy and narco-terrorism, to which they have pleaded not guilty.

The dispute highlights the broader impact of U.S. sanctions and legal restrictions imposed on Venezuela following its recent political upheaval. U.S. authorities maintain tight controls over Venezuelan government finances, complicating efforts to pay even routine costs related to Maduro’s defence.