US Court Hears Arguments in Case Against Ousted Venezuelan President Maduro Over Legal Fees

New York. Arguments were heard on Thursday in a federal court in New York regarding the case of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Maduro, facing charges of drug trafficking and narcoterrorism, has demanded access to Venezuelan state funds for his legal defense.

Hearing the matter, US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein questioned the US government's argument to freeze Maduro's assets. However, the judge refused to dismiss the case against Maduro based solely on this ground.

Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, who were dramatically arrested by US special military forces in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, about two months ago and brought to New York, appeared in court wearing prison attire. They remain in a Brooklyn jail and have denied all charges against them.

Maduro's lawyers argued that due to the freezing of Venezuelan state funds, Maduro is unable to secure quality legal services, citing the Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution which guarantees the right to counsel of one's choice. According to them, the Maduro couple does not have the financial capacity to pay expensive private legal fees.

Government prosecutor Kyle Wirschba argued that the funds accessible to Maduro were restricted due to national security and foreign policy reasons. However, Judge Hellerstein expressed doubt about this argument, commenting that Maduro is no longer in power and poses no security threat as he is incarcerated.

He noted that the right to have a constitutional legal advisor is paramount over other rights. Barry Pollack, a lawyer who previously argued for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, is representing Maduro. Pollack has also indicated that he might withdraw from the case if the Venezuelan government cannot pay the fees and the case is not dismissed.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters on Thursday, warned that further charges would be filed against Maduro, though he did not provide details about the nature of those charges.

Prosecutors maintain that since the US did not recognize Maduro as the legitimate president since 2019, he cannot claim state funds, and if he lacks money, he must rely on the public defender available at government expense.

The narcoterrorism conspiracy charge against Maduro is a legal provision rarely tested in US courts. According to a Reuters analysis, in four previous cases of a similar nature, two verdicts were overturned due to witness credibility issues.

Maduro, for his part, has consistently claimed that all charges against him are politically motivated and that the US is framing him to gain control over Venezuela's vast oil reserves. Following Maduro's arrest, former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez became interim president, and relations between Washington and Caracas have seen some improvement since then.

Reuters