Former dictator Nicolás Maduro’s lawyer, Barry J. Pollack, said this Wednesday (25) that the United States government, through the Treasury Department, is preventing the Venezuelan regime from paying his defense fees in the criminal case to which he faces after being captured and taken to the USA.
Maduro faces charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation in Manhattan federal court. He pleaded not guilty and is being held in a prison center in Brooklyn.
Pollack stated that the impediment occurs because both Maduro and the current Venezuelan regime are still under sanctions imposed by the United States. Because of these sanctions, any payments made by the Venezuelan regime to American citizens or companies require authorization from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Treasury Department body responsible for applying and monitoring economic restrictions.
According to the lawyer, OFAC granted a license so that he could be paid by the Venezuelan regime to defend Maduro in the process on January 9. However, three hours later, the body changed the authorization to withdraw permission for Venezuela to bear the costs of Maduro’s defense.
The lawyer maintains that the measure interferes with the former Venezuelan dictator’s constitutional right to choose his own lawyer, guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution.
“The Venezuelan government has an obligation to pay Mr. Maduro’s fees,” wrote Pollack. “Mr Maduro has a legitimate expectation that the Venezuelan government will do so,” he added.
The lawyer reported that he asked the Treasury to restore the January authorization and that, if there is no response, he will ask federal judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, responsible for the case, to intervene. The January authorization also allowed Venezuela to pay for the defense of Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, accused in the same case. Flores also pleaded not guilty.
