NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro asked a judge on Thursday to throw out an indictment against his client, arguing that the United States unconstitutionally blocked his right to a defense by blocking Venezuelan funds from paying his legal fees.
Attorney Barry Pollack filed documents in Manhattan federal court claiming the U.S. government violated his client’s due process rights by blocking funds that would have come from the Venezuelan government to defend him.
“As Venezuela’s head of state, Mr. Maduro has both the right and the expectation to have his legal fees related to these allegations funded by the Venezuelan government,” Pollack wrote.
The court submissions included a statement from Maduro in which he said that under Venezuelan law and practice, “I have the right to have the Venezuelan government pay for my legal defense.”
“I relied on that expectation and could not afford the cost of my own legal defense,” he said.
Maduro added that he had been working on a legal defense with Pollack and that he was “the lawyer of my choice.” The declaration was signed “President Nicolás Maduro Moros.”
Maduro and his wife have been held in New York since they were captured from their home in Venezuela during a covert nighttime U.S. military operation in early January. They plead not guilty.
The 25-page indictment against Maduro accuses him and others of working with drug cartels and military personnel to help move thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States. If convicted, both he and his wife face life in prison.
As part of the alleged conspiracy, Maduro and his wife allegedly ordered the kidnapping, beating and murder of people who owed them drug money, the indictment said. This allegedly included the killing of a local drug lord in Caracas.
Pollack told a Manhattan judge in an email last week that the U.S. Treasury Department had blocked authorization for the Venezuelan government to pay Maduro’s legal fees but allowed payments for first lady Celia Flores’ defense.
Pollack said that the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which is responsible for managing sanctions against Venezuela, approved the Venezuelan government to pay legal fees on January 9. Less than three hours later, the department revoked the authorization “without explanation,” he said.
“The U.S. government’s actions undermine not only Mr. Maduro’s rights, but also this court’s mission to provide all defendants with a fair trial under the protections afforded by the U.S. Constitution,” Pollack wrote in a court filing Thursday.
“The U.S. government prohibits lawyers from receiving untainted funds from the Venezuelan government even while authorizing substantial commercial transactions with Venezuela, despite Venezuela’s obligation to fund Mr. Maduro’s defense. Any trial conducted under these circumstances would be constitutionally flawed and would be unable to result in a verdict that would withstand future challenges,” he added.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Pollack said he wanted to resign if the judge stayed the charges against Maduro so that the court could appoint other lawyers to represent Maduro.
The dispute over Maduro’s legal fees is closely related to U.S. foreign policy. The first Trump administration severed ties with Maduro in 2019, recognizing the then-opposition National Assembly president as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. The Biden administration is strictly following the same policy.
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Goodman reported from Miami.
