Nicolás Maduro ran out of money to pay for a lawyer in New York

The former narco-terrorist dictator Nicolás Maduro ran out of money to finance his legal defense due to the current United States sanctions against Venezuela, which prevent funds from the chavista regime from arriving.

The complaint was filed by the American attorney Barry J. Pollack through a letter addressed to federal judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, dated February 20. In that document, the lawyer argued that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is obstructing his client's defense, former dictator Maduro, by not authorizing the Venezuelan dictatorship to cover the legal costs.

According to Pollack, Venezuelan legislation establishes that the state must pay the defense expenses of both Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, because both are still considered "head of state" and "first lady," respectively, despite having been arrested on January 3 in a United States military operation. Subsequently, they were transferred to New York, where they face criminal charges related to terrorism, drug trafficking and firearms.

The attorney explained that, due to the sanctions imposed against Venezuela, the Venezuelan regime needs special authorization to make payments, which it did not obtain. He also stated that his country has the obligation to finance Maduro's fees, and that otherwise the former dictator can't pay for a lawyer.

In parallel, despite the serious violations of rights and freedoms in Venezuela, he warned that "by not allowing the government to pay Mr. Maduro's defense expenses, OFAC is interfering with Mr. Maduro's ability to hire an attorney and, therefore, with his right, under the Sixth Amendment, to have an attorney of his choice."

The defense's claim puts the focus on the former Venezuelan dictator's "legal guarantees" within the United States judicial system, in a context marked by the lack of rights and guarantees for political prisoners under the regime that he himself led. In any case, the allegation is false because, if they do not have the money to pay for one, detainees are assigned a public defender at no cost.

Meanwhile, as his defense demands respect for his right to choose legal representation, Maduro's judicial situation contrasts with the scenario faced by numerous detainees in Venezuela.

Maduro and Flores appeared for the first time before the United States justice system on January 5. The next hearing, which had initially been scheduled for the following weeks, was rescheduled and set for March 26.