U.S. allows Venezuelan government funds to be used for Nicolás Maduro’s defense in New York case
The Facts
- The U.S. government said the Treasury Department issued amended licenses allowing defense lawyers for Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores to receive payments from the Venezuelan government.
- U.S. authorities had previously blocked the use of Venezuelan government funds to pay for Maduro’s defense because of sanctions-related restrictions.
- Maduro’s defense argued that blocking payment for counsel violated his right to a fair trial or to counsel of his choice and asked the court to dismiss the indictment.
- At a hearing in March, Judge Alvin Hellerstein questioned the government’s refusal to allow Venezuelan funds to be used for the defense.
- After the amended licenses were issued, the defense withdrew its motions seeking dismissal based on the payment dispute.
- The change matters to the criminal case because it removes a procedural obstacle that had stalled or threatened to derail the prosecution in New York.
Context
What changed in court on Friday?
Prosecutors informed the court that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control had issued amended licenses so defense lawyers for Maduro and Flores could be paid by the Venezuelan government under certain conditions NYT,TASS.
Why was the payment issue important to the case?
Defense lawyers said the sanctions-related payment block prevented Maduro from using his chosen counsel and asked for the indictment to be dismissed on that basis; the judge had also pressed the government about its reasoning at a March hearing Bloomberg Business,ThePrint.
How left and right read it
What stands out here is the basic fairness issue: the government had blocked payment for defense counsel, even as the defense argued that restriction violated the right to a fair trial or counsel of choice. The amended licenses matter not just because they clear the case to proceed, but because they reduce the risk that sanctions-related rules distort core legal protections.
The important point is that the licensing change removes a procedural obstacle that had stalled or threatened to derail the prosecution in New York. Once the Treasury Department amended the licenses and the defense withdrew its dismissal motions, the case could move forward on firmer procedural footing rather than getting bogged down in a sanctions-related side dispute.
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