US Blocks Venezuela Funds for Maduro Defense

U.S. prosecutors are arguing that ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should not be allowed to use Venezuelan government funds to defend himself against U.S. drug trafficking charges. This comes after the United States===United States Department of the Treasury revoked an exemption to U.S. financial sanctions on Venezuela that had previously permitted such funding. Nicolás Maduro's lawyer, Barry Pollack, contends that this revocation interferes with his client's Sixth Amendment right to counsel, citing Venezuelan law and custom for government payment of presidential expenses. Prosecutors maintain the initial exemption was an 'administrative error' and that Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores, his wife, can use personal funds. Both Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores were captured in a U.S. military raid and are jailed in Brooklyn, pleading not guilty. The United States accuses Nicolás Maduro of rigging re-election votes and recognizes Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela's sole head of state.