Exception for Nicolas Maduro from the sanctions imposed on Venezuela. The former president claimed the violation of the US Constitution
The American government has given its approval for Venezuela to pay the fees of the lawyers of Nicolas Maduro, the former Venezuelan president who is detained in the United States, according to a judicial document, AFP informs on Saturday, taken over by Agerpres.
The US administration had previously prevented the Venezuelan state from paying Maduro's lawyers' fees due to international sanctions imposed on the country.
The defense team of Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, used the ban to try to get the indictment dismissed, arguing that denying a defendant access to a lawyer of his choice violates a right guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution.
But the Treasury Department has cleared that hurdle and will allow “defense attorneys to receive payments from the Venezuelan government under certain conditions,” New York Attorney General Jay Clayton wrote to Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is handling the case, in a letter dated Friday.
According to him, the defense recognizes this concession and withdraws its rejection of the indictment for the time being.
Kidnapped on January 3 in Caracas together with his wife during a spectacular US military operation that involved approximately 150 aircraft and helicopters, in addition to ground troops, Nicolas Maduro faces four charges in the US, including narco-terrorism.
The former president of Venezuela denies the accusations brought against him. The Maduros are currently in a high-security prison located in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
