Venezuela cannot pay for Maduro's lawyer. He wants the case dismissed

Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro asked to discontinue the drug smuggling case pending against him in the US because the country's authorities did not allow the Venezuelan government to pay his lawyer, Reuters reported on the night from Thursday to Friday.

Maduro's lawyer, Barry Pollack, told Judge Alvin Hellerstein on Wednesday that the U.S. Treasury initially granted an exception to the 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imposed on Venezuela so that the country's government could pay for the former leader's defense, but that approval was withdrawn hours later.

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.

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 Ministry of Finance withdrew consent 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. (PAP)

wia/ sp/