The US has finally agreed to allow the Venezuelan government to fund the defense of ousted President Nicolás Maduro.
According to CNN, federal prosecutors and attorneys for the Maduros informed the judge overseeing the case in a joint letter filed late Friday night that the Treasury Department agreed to amend a license allowing for payments to attorneys for Maduro and his wife, who is also facing criminal charges, without violating US sanctions laws.
Maduro and his wife have pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges.
“The amended licenses authorize defense counsel to receive payments from the Government of Venezuela under certain conditions,” prosecutors and lawyers for the defense told the judge, so that the payments are made with money “available to the Government of Venezuela after March 5, 2026.”
The Maduros and Venezuelan government are both sanctioned by the US, so anybody seeking payment from them needs to obtain a license from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to avoid violating US sanctions laws.
Late last month, Nicolás Maduro’s attorney, Barry Pollack, said the OFAC granted and then revoked a license allowing the Venezuelan government to pay his legal fees.
Prosecutors said it was an “administrative error” and the Maduros could access their personal funds in Venezuela to cover their legal expenses, but Pollack argued the reversal violated Maduro’s constitutional right to defend against the charges.
The Maduros had testified they do not have their own funds available to pay the legal fees, per Pollack.
Maduro was first elected president of Venezuela in 2013. But the US government, along with dozens of other countries, has not recognized him as the legitimate leader of Venezuela since 2019.
In March, the Trump administration recognized Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former deputy, as the leader of Venezuela.
