Overview
- Maduro and Cilia Flores, jailed in Brooklyn, returned to Manhattan federal court Thursday, and Judge Alvin Hellerstein said he would not dismiss the indictment.
- The defense says U.S. sanctions block Venezuelan state payments for their attorneys after a Treasury license issued on Jan. 9 was withdrawn hours later, which they argue violates their right to hire counsel of choice.
- Prosecutors argue the pair can use personal funds or receive court‑appointed lawyers and say allowing Venezuelan government money would undercut U.S. sanctions and foreign policy.
- Hellerstein questioned why sanctions should block defense funding given warmer U.S.–Venezuela ties and took the issue under advisement without setting a timetable.
- Prosecutors also sought a protective order to bar sharing evidence with four fugitive co‑defendants — Diosdado Cabello, Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, and Héctor Guerrero Flores — citing risks to witnesses, and no trial date has been set as a lengthy pretrial phase begins.