Overview
- Defense lawyers filed a renewed motion with sworn statements saying Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores cannot afford counsel and asked for dismissal or at least a hearing.
- OFAC has not authorized Venezuela to pay the defense, and attorneys say a license was first issued then revoked with shifting explanations.
- Prosecutors urge the judge to reject the request, citing OFAC rules that bar a sanctioned government from funding sanctioned defendants' lawyers and warning of national‑security and sanctions‑policy risks.
- They also argue the defendants can access personal funds, a point the defense disputes as it presses Sixth and Fifth Amendment claims.
- A hearing is set for March 26 before Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in New York; Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty in January to narcotics, money‑laundering and corruption charges.