US prosecutors defend block on Venezuelan state funds for Maduro's defense
By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) - Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro should not be able to use Venezuelan government funds to defend himself against U.S. drug trafficking charges, U.S. prosecutors said on Friday, noting that Washington has not considered him the legitimate leader of the South American country for years.
Last month, Maduro's lawyer Barry Pollack urged U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to dismiss the indictment against Maduro because the Treasury Department had without explanation revoked an exemption to U.S. financial sanctions on Venezuela that had allowed the South American country's government to fund his defense.
Pollack argued that the revocation interfered with Maduro's right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
He said that "Venezuelan law and custom" dictate that the government pay the expenses of the president and his wife. An official in Venezuela's attorney general's office said in a court filing last month that the government was prepared to pay.
In urging Hellerstein not to dismiss the indictment, prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office on Friday said the initial exemption was an "administrative error."
The prosecutors said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would still be allowed to use their personal funds for their defense. Flores' lawyer, Mark Donnelly, had also asked Hellerstein to dismiss charges against her over the funding of her defense.
"While both defendants claim that they are entitled to funds under the Venezuelan constitution ... both defendants also surely knew that the U.S. Government did not consider them to hold legitimate positions," prosecutors wrote, noting that one purpose of the U.S. sanctions was to drive Maduro and Flores from power.
The Venezuelan communications ministry, which handles all press queries for the government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Maduro and Flores were captured on January 3 in a U.S. military raid on their Caracas home. Both have pleaded not guilty and are jailed in Brooklyn pending trial.
Their lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hellerstein is expected to consider the legal fees dispute during a court hearing on March 26 in Manhattan.
The U.S. accuses Maduro, a socialist who took office in 2013, of rigging his re-election votes in 2018 and 2024, which he denies.
Maduro's former Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has been running Venezuela since his capture. A State Department official said in a March 11 court filing in a separate case that the U.S. recognizes Rodriguez as Venezuela's sole head of state.
