US Blocking Venezuela’s Payment of Maduro’s Legal Fees, Lawyer Claims

The decision amounts to violation of Maduro’s right under the Sixth Amendment to get counsel of his choice, the lawyer said.

Captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are escorted as they head toward the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse in Manhattan for an initial appearance to face U.S. federal charges including narco-terrorism, conspiracy, drug trafficking, money laundering, and others, at Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City on Jan. 5, 2026. Adam Gray /Reuters

The U.S. government is preventing Venezuela from paying the legal representation fees for deposed leader Nicolás Maduro in the ongoing case against him in New York, Maduro’s counsel Barry J. Pollack wrote in a letter filed at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Feb. 25.

Maduro was captured by U.S. forces last month and moved to the United States. On Jan. 5, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were indicted with a string of charges, including narcoterrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States.