{"id":3488,"date":"2026-04-25T17:43:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T17:43:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488"},"modified":"2026-04-25T17:43:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T17:43:58","slug":"us-to-let-venezuela-pay-maduros-lawyer-in-drug-trafficking-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488","title":{"rendered":"US to let Venezuela pay Maduro’s lawyer in drug trafficking case\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON: The United States has agreed to modify its sanctions \u200bon Venezuela to allow the South American country\u2019s government to pay Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s defense lawyer, backing \u200coff a restriction that had threatened to derail the drug trafficking case against the ousted Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro a court filing showed on Friday.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maduro, 63, and his wife Cilia Flores, 69, were captured from their home in Caracas by US special forces on \u200bJanuary 3 and brought to New York to face criminal charges including narcoterrorism conspiracy. They have \u200bpleaded not guilty and are jailed in Brooklyn pending trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maduro\u2019s lawyer Barry Pollack in \u2060February asked Manhattan-based US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to dismiss the case because US sanctions were preventing the \u200bVenezuelan government from paying his legal fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pollack said that prohibition amounted to a violation of Maduro\u2019s rights under \u200bthe US Constitution to the counsel of his choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neither Maduro nor Flores can afford lawyers on their own, and the Venezuelan government is prepared to pay their fees, their lawyers have said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All criminal defendants in the US have constitutional rights regardless of \u200bwhether they are US citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hellerstein said in a March 26 court hearing that he did not intend \u200bto dismiss the case, but appeared skeptical that the government was justified in blocking the payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prosecutor Kyle Wirshba said in court \u200cthat \u2060the US sanctions blocking the payments were based on legitimate national security and foreign policy interests. Wirshba also said that Hellerstein could not order the Treasury Department to modify its sanctions because the executive branch, not the judiciary, is in charge of foreign policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hellerstein noted that the US had relaxed sanctions on Venezuela since Maduro\u2019s \u200bouster. Relations between Caracas \u200band Washington have improved \u2060since Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro\u2019s former vice president, began leading Venezuela on an interim basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe defendant is here, Flores is here. They present no further national security threat,\u201d said \u200bHellerstein, a judicial appointee of Democratic President Bill Clinton. \u201cThe right that\u2019s implicated, paramount \u200bover other \u2060rights, is the right to constitutional counsel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his first term in the White House, US President Donald Trump ramped up sanctions on Venezuela over allegations that Maduro\u2019s government was corrupt and undermining democratic institutions. Washington called Maduro\u2019s 2018 \u2060reelection fraudulent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maduro \u200bdismissed those accusations, along with allegations of his participation in drug \u200btrafficking, as pretextual justifications for what he called a US desire to seize control of the South American OPEC nation\u2019s vast oil \u200breserves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON: The United States has agreed to modify its sanctions \u200bon Venezuela to allow the South American country\u2019s government to pay Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s defense lawyer, backing \u200coff a restriction that… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3489,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1957,254,2049],"class_list":["post-3488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-nicolas-maduro","tag-united-states","tag-venezuela"],"yoast_head":"\nUS to let Venezuela pay Maduro's lawyer in drug trafficking case\u00a0 - World Watch Alert<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The United States has agreed to modify its sanctions on Venezuela to allow the South American country\u2019s government to pay Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s defense lawyer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US to let Venezuela pay Maduro's lawyer in drug trafficking case\u00a0 - World Watch Alert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The United States has agreed to modify its sanctions on Venezuela to allow the South American country\u2019s government to pay Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s defense lawyer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World Watch Alert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-25T17:43:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-25T17:43:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/432720_8837349_updates-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3488#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3488\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a1cf922194712e47776dbb1e51115040\"},\"headline\":\"US to let Venezuela pay Maduro’s lawyer in drug trafficking case\u00a0\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-25T17:43:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-25T17:43:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3488\"},\"wordCount\":427,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3488#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/432720_8837349_updates-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Nicolas Maduro\",\"United States\",\"Venezuela\"],\"articleSection\":[\"World\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3488\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3488\",\"name\":\"US to let Venezuela pay Maduro's lawyer in drug trafficking case\u00a0 - World Watch Alert\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3488#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3488#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/432720_8837349_updates-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-25T17:43:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-25T17:43:58+00:00\",\"description\":\"The United States has agreed to modify its sanctions on Venezuela to allow the South American country\u2019s government to pay Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s defense lawyer\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3488#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3488\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3488#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/432720_8837349_updates-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/432720_8837349_updates-1.jpg\",\"width\":700,\"height\":400},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?p=3488#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"US to let Venezuela pay Maduro’s lawyer in drug trafficking case\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"World Watch Alert\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"World Watch Alert\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Chief-Editor-Asif-Ali-Bhatti.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Chief-Editor-Asif-Ali-Bhatti.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":350,\"caption\":\"World Watch Alert\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a1cf922194712e47776dbb1e51115040\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4c81c452db555bfe1e0e5ed315dd6b278f007d8ede7a2a3faadee052f7c23d40?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4c81c452db555bfe1e0e5ed315dd6b278f007d8ede7a2a3faadee052f7c23d40?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4c81c452db555bfe1e0e5ed315dd6b278f007d8ede7a2a3faadee052f7c23d40?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.worldwatchalert.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"US to let Venezuela pay Maduro's lawyer in drug trafficking case\u00a0 - World Watch Alert","description":"The United States has agreed to modify its sanctions on Venezuela to allow the South American country\u2019s government to pay Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s defense lawyer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"US to let Venezuela pay Maduro's lawyer in drug trafficking case\u00a0 - World Watch Alert","og_description":"The United States has agreed to modify its sanctions on Venezuela to allow the South American country\u2019s government to pay Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s defense lawyer","og_url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488","og_site_name":"World Watch Alert","article_published_time":"2026-04-25T17:43:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-25T17:43:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":700,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/432720_8837349_updates-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a1cf922194712e47776dbb1e51115040"},"headline":"US to let Venezuela pay Maduro’s lawyer in drug trafficking case\u00a0","datePublished":"2026-04-25T17:43:57+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-25T17:43:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488"},"wordCount":427,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/432720_8837349_updates-1.jpg","keywords":["Nicolas Maduro","United States","Venezuela"],"articleSection":["World"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488","url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488","name":"US to let Venezuela pay Maduro's lawyer in drug trafficking case\u00a0 - World Watch Alert","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/432720_8837349_updates-1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-25T17:43:57+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-25T17:43:58+00:00","description":"The United States has agreed to modify its sanctions on Venezuela to allow the South American country\u2019s government to pay Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s defense lawyer","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/432720_8837349_updates-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/432720_8837349_updates-1.jpg","width":700,"height":400},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3488#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"US to let Venezuela pay Maduro’s lawyer in drug trafficking case\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/","name":"World Watch Alert","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#organization","name":"World Watch Alert","url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Chief-Editor-Asif-Ali-Bhatti.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Chief-Editor-Asif-Ali-Bhatti.png","width":1080,"height":350,"caption":"World Watch Alert"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a1cf922194712e47776dbb1e51115040","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4c81c452db555bfe1e0e5ed315dd6b278f007d8ede7a2a3faadee052f7c23d40?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4c81c452db555bfe1e0e5ed315dd6b278f007d8ede7a2a3faadee052f7c23d40?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4c81c452db555bfe1e0e5ed315dd6b278f007d8ede7a2a3faadee052f7c23d40?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3488"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3490,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3488\/revisions\/3490"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}