Overview
- Maduro and Cilia Flores appeared before Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan on Thursday to press a bid to dismiss the case, arguing U.S. sanctions blocking Venezuelan state funds deny them their chosen lawyers.
- Defense filings say the Treasury’s sanctions office briefly approved an OFAC license on January 9 to let Venezuela pay Maduro’s fees before rescinding it within hours, while prosecutors call that approval an administrative error and say he may use personal funds but not money controlled by a sanctioned government.
- Prosecutors asked for a protective order to block sharing certain discovery with four co-defendants who remain at large, warning they could use Venezuelan state power to identify or intimidate witnesses or their families.
- Maduro’s lead attorney, Barry Pollack, says he will withdraw if the court does not allow state payment, and no trial date has been set as both defendants remain detained at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center without seeking bail.
- The charges include a rarely used ‘narcoterrorism’ statute that has few trial convictions and past reversals tied to witness credibility, signaling a case likely to hinge on insider testimony and strict proof of a terrorism link.