Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Asks Judge To Toss Out Indictment Against Him | EUROtoday

NEW YORK (AP) — The lawyer for deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro requested a choose on Thursday to toss out the indictment towards his consumer on the grounds that the United States has unconstitutionally violated his rights to defend himself by blocking Venezuelan funds to pay his authorized prices.

Attorney Barry Pollack filed papers in Manhattan federal court docket, saying the U.S. authorities has violated his consumer’s due course of rights by blocking funds to defend him that ought to come from the Venezuelan authorities.

“Mr. Maduro, as Venezuela’s head of state, has both a right and an expectation to have legal fees associated with these charges funded by the government of Venezuela,” Pollack wrote.

The court docket submission included a declaration from Maduro through which he mentioned he understood that below the legal guidelines and practices of Venezuela, “I am entitled to have the government of Venezuela pay for my legal defense.”

“I have relied on this expectation and cannot afford to pay for my own legal defense,” he mentioned.

Maduro added that he has “been working” with Pollack on his authorized protection and that he “is my counsel of choice.” The declaration was signed “President Nicolas Maduro Moros.”

Maduro and his spouse have been in custody in New York since they had been seized from their Venezuelan residence in early January in a stealth nighttime U.S. army operation. They’ve pleaded not responsible.

A 25-page indictment towards Maduro accused him and others of working with drug cartels and members of the army to facilitate the cargo of hundreds of tons of cocaine into the U.S. If convicted, each he and his spouse face life in jail.

As a part of the purported conspiracy, Maduro and his spouse allegedly ordering kidnappings, beatings and murders of those that owed them drug cash, in keeping with the indictment. It mentioned that included the killing of a neighborhood drug boss in Caracas.

Pollack advised a Manhattan choose in an electronic mail final week that the U.S. Treasury Department had blocked the authorization of authorized charges that the federal government of Venezuela is required to pay for Maduro, although it has allowed charges to be paid for the protection of first woman Cilia Flores.

Pollack mentioned that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers sanctions towards Venezuela, had granted permission on Jan. 9 approving the fee of authorized charges by the Venezuelan authorities. He mentioned the division rescinded the authorization “without explanation” lower than three hours later.

“The conduct of the United States government not only undermines Mr. Maduro’s rights but also this Court’s mandate to provide a fair trial to all defendants who come before it in accordance with the protections afforded by the U.S. Constitution,” Pollack wrote in court docket papers submitted Thursday.

“The United States government, even while authorizing myriad commercial transactions with Venezuela, is prohibiting counsel from receiving untainted funds from the government of Venezuela, despite Venezuela’s obligation to fund Mr. Maduro’s defense. Any trial that proceeds under these circumstances will be constitutionally defective and cannot result in a verdict that will withstand later challenge,” he added.

The U.S. Department of Justice didn’t instantly reply to a message left by The Associated Press searching for remark.

If the choose leaves the fees towards Maduro in place, Pollack mentioned he needs to resign so the court docket can appoint different counsel to signify Maduro.

The dispute over Maduro’s authorized charges is intimately linked to U.S. international coverage. The first Trump administration minimize ties with Maduro in 2019, recognizing the then- opposition head of the National Assembly as Venezuela’s professional chief. The Biden administration hewed intently to the identical coverage.

Goodman reported from Miami.