Maduro's lawyer, Barry Pollack, told Judge Alvin Hellerstein on Wednesday that the U.S. Treasury Department initially granted an exception to financial sanctions imposed on Venezuela so that the country's government could pay for the former leader's defense, but that approval was withdrawn hours later.
Why does Nicolas Maduro want the case to be dismissed?
Who represents Nicolas Maduro?
When were Maduro and his wife detained?
What's the problem with paying Maduro's lawyer?
On Thursday, Pollack asked the judge to drop the case against Maduro. He argued that the failure of the government in Caracas to agree to pay a lawyer violated the defendant's right to legal assistance under the 6th Amendment to the US Constitution. He added that he could not continue to represent Maduro unless he received payment from the Venezuelan government.
Detention of Nicolas Maduro. He was arrested in the USA
Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured by US commandos in Caracas on January 3 and then taken to New York, where they stood trial, charged by US prosecutors with drug smuggling and weapons possession offences.
According to Pollack, the U.S. Department of the Treasury withdrew its approval for the Venezuelan government to pay for legal services for Maduro, but not for his wife. They are both in custody in New York, awaiting trial. They face many years in prison.
