US Allows Venezuela to Fund Nicolás Maduro’s Legal Defense

(MENAFN) The United States has agreed to allow the Venezuelan government to cover the legal defense costs of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, resolving a weeks-long dispute over funding arrangements in his ongoing legal case, according to reports.

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York confirmed that the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued amended licenses permitting Maduro’s defense attorneys, as well as those representing his wife Cilia Flores, to receive payments from the Venezuelan government under specific conditions, as stated by reports.

The decision follows earlier court proceedings in which prosecutors argued that Maduro had “plundered Venezuela’s wealth and should not be able to use its money for legal fees,” according to reports.

Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, countered that restrictions on access to funds were preventing a fair defense, stating: “He is entitled to use those resources to defend himself,” as previously noted in court arguments.

Under the revised OFAC framework, payments must come from funds that became available after March 5, 2026, and cannot originate from restricted foreign government accounts, according to official filings cited in reports.

Prosecutors said the updated authorization effectively resolves the dispute that had prompted motions to dismiss the case, and the defense has since withdrawn those motions without prejudice, as stated by reports.

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