US agrees Venezuelan government can pay Maduro’s legal fees, ending weekslong standoff

By Kara Scannell, CNN

(CNN) — The US has agreed to allow the Venezuelan government to fund the defense of ousted President Nicolás Maduro, ending a legal standoff that has clouded the case for weeks.

Federal prosecutors and attorneys for the Maduros informed the judge overseeing the case in a joint letter filed late Friday night that the Treasury Department agreed to amend a license allowing for payments to attorneys for Maduro and his wife, who is also facing criminal charges, without violating US sanctions laws. Maduro and his wife have pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges.

“The amended licenses authorize defense counsel to receive payments from the Government of Venezuela under certain conditions,” prosecutors and lawyers for the defense told the judge, so that the payments are made with money “available to the Government of Venezuela after March 5, 2026.”

The Maduros and Venezuelan government are both sanctioned by the US, so anybody seeking payment from them needs to obtain a license from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to avoid violating US sanctions laws.

Late last month, Nicolás Maduro’s attorney, Barry Pollack, said the OFAC granted and then revoked a license allowing the Venezuelan government to pay his legal fees.

Prosecutors said it was an “administrative error” and the Maduros could access their personal funds in Venezuela to cover their legal expenses, but Pollack argued the reversal violated Maduro’s constitutional right to defend against the charges. The Maduros had testified they do not have their own funds available to pay the legal fees, per Pollack.

Lawyers for the Maduros previously asked the judge to dismiss the indictment, saying the US government was hindering their ability to defense against criminal charges related to a narco-terrorism conspiracy scheme.

During a hearing last month, prosecutors accused the Maduros of “plundering the wealth of Venezuela” and said the government should have the ability to “use sanctions to influence foreign policy.”

“That is the purpose of the sanctions and a justifiable reason for limiting access to funds,” the attorney said. “As your honor knows, that purpose predated the criminal case here.”

Judge Alvin Hellerstein was skeptical of the government’s position, saying Maduro and his wife were in federal custody and he didn’t believe they posed any threat.

Prosecutors said the Maduros’ attorneys have dropped their legal challenge.

The Maduros are being held in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Pollack has signaled that he will challenge the legality of Maduro’s arrest and argues he is immune from prosecution because the alleged illegal conduct occurred while he was president.

Maduro was first elected president of Venezuela in 2013. But the US government, along with dozens of other countries, has not recognized him as the legitimate leader of Venezuela since 2019.

In March, the Trump administration recognized Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former deputy, as the leader of Venezuela.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with additional information.

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