Trump admin blocks Venezuelan government from paying Nicolas Maduro’s legal fees

The Trump administration has moved to block the Venezuelan government from covering former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s legal fees as he fights federal drug and arms trafficking charges in New York, according to a court filing by his lawyer.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty in a New York federal court on Jan. 5 to drug and arms trafficking charges, days after U.S. forces captured them at Venezuela’s presidential palace.

In a letter to U.S. Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case in the Southern District of New York, Maduro’s lawyer Barry Pollack said the United States was preventing the Venezuelan government from covering his client’s legal fees.

“The Government of Venezuela has an obligation to pay Mr. Maduro’s fees. Mr. Maduro has a legitimate expectation that the Government of Venezuela will do so, and Mr. Maduro cannot otherwise afford the services of an attorney,” Pollack wrote.

Nicolás Maduro is seen handcuffed after landing on a Manhattan heliport, escorted by federal agents as they walk to an armored car en route to a Manhattan federal courthouse on January 5, 2026, in New York. (XNY/Star Max/GC Images)

In the letter dated February 20, Pollack asserted that under “Venezuelan law and custom, the government of Venezuela pays the expenses of the President and First Lady.”

Pollack said Maduro and the Venezuelan government were subject to sanctions by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and his legal counsel would have to obtain a license to represent him and be paid.

While Pollack said OFAC granted licenses to Maduro and Flores on January 9, Maduro’s license was changed “without explanation” to not allow the Venezuelan government to pay his defense costs.

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Captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appear with their attorneys Barry Pollack and Mark Donnelly during their arraignment in federal court in New York, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (Jeanne Rosenberg)

Flores’ license was not affected, according to Pollack.

Pollack said OFAC was “interfering with Mr. Maduro’s ability to retain counsel” and violating his Sixth Amendment right to counsel of his choice.

Maduro’s lawyer said OFAC did not respond to his request to reinstate the original license and threatened legal action if he continued to do so.

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Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are seen handcuffed after landing on a Manhattan heliport before being escorted to a federal courthouse in Manhattan on January 5, 2026, in New York. (XNY/Star Max/GC Images)

“If OFAC does not act on, or denies, the request to reinstate the original license, Mr. Maduro will file a formal motion in the coming days seeking relief from the Court,” he wrote.

The US military carried out an operation to capture Maduro in Caracas on January 3. He was flown to New York, where he is being held in federal prison.

Maduro was charged with narcoterrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

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Flores faces three charges: conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Treasury Department for comment.

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