Maduro’s lawyers said on Thursday that the case should be thrown out because the US government has prevented Venezuela from paying the legal fees of the detained leader and his wife

Venezuela’s abducted president Nicolás Maduro has asked a United States judge to dismiss drug-trafficking charges filed by the Trump administration, arguing that Washington is undermining his constitutional right to defend himself.

Maduro’s lawyers said on Thursday that the case should be thrown out because the US government has prevented Venezuela from paying the legal fees of the detained leader and his wife.

According to defence attorney Barry Pollack, blocking the funds interferes with Maduro’s ability to hire counsel of his choice and violates his Sixth Amendment right to legal representation.

Pollack told a Manhattan federal judge that such interference should lead to dismissal of the charges.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been held without bail in New York since US forces seized them from their home in Venezuela on January 3.

US prosecutors accuse Maduro of using his position to assist drug traffickers, with Flores allegedly acting as a co-conspirator. Both have denied the allegations.

In court filings, Pollack said the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control initially authorised Venezuela to cover Maduro’s legal costs on January 9 but revoked the approval within hours without explanation, while allowing payments for Flores’s lawyers.

A spokesperson for the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office declined immediate comment.

Reports suggest that permitting Venezuela to finance Maduro’s defence could complicate prosecutors’ efforts to counter his claim that his capture was unlawful and that, as a foreign head of state, he is immune from prosecution under US and international law.

Join us on our WhatsApp Platform @KOIKIMEDIA NEWS YOUR PAGE

koikimedia Bringing the World 🌎 Closer to Your Doorstep