Defense lawyers had sought to dismiss the case, claiming that Maduro’s rights had been violated following the US kidnapping.
Published on 25 April 2026
The United States has agreed to ease some sanctions on Venezuela to allow the country’s government to cover the legal fees of former President Nicolas Maduro, who is on federal trial in New York City on drug trafficking charges after being kidnapped by US forces in January.
Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, had asked Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in February to dismiss the case, arguing that the government’s prohibition on paying legal fees in Caracas violates Maduro’s legal right to a lawyer of his choice.
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In a court filing, US Justice Department lawyers agreed to modify US sanctions so that the Venezuelan government could pay Maduro’s defense attorney. He said the change makes the defense’s motion to dismiss the case “foolish.”
The pivot is the latest update in a closely watched lawsuit that has raised numerous legal questions based on Maduro’s status as a former head of state and how he was taken into US custody.
Critics have condemned the proceedings as fundamentally illegitimate, pointing to the extraordinary US military operation to kidnap Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, from Venezuela. Legal experts have called this raid a flagrant violation of international law.
The Trump administration has said that the kidnapping was a law enforcement operation supported by the military. It has argued that Washington does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela after several elections.
Under the international law concept of “head of state immunity”, current world leaders are generally granted immunity from foreign national courts.
After being deported to the United States, Maduro and Flores pleaded innocent and remained jailed in Brooklyn, New York. Maduro has dismissed the US accusations as a false pretext for seizing the South American country’s natural resources.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire for foreign companies to access Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
During a hearing on March 26, Judge Hellerstein did not indicate whether he would dismiss the suit, but he questioned whether the sanctions preventing the Venezuelan government from covering Maduro’s legal fees were a violation of constitutional rights.
All criminal defendants in the US have constitutional rights, whether or not they are US citizens.
Prosecutors at the time argued that the sanctions were based on national security interests and emphasized that the executive branch, rather than the judiciary, oversees foreign policy.
He further argued that Maduro and Flores could use personal funds to pay a lawyer of their choice.
“The defendants are here, Flores is here. They pose no further threat to national security,” Hellerstein said.
“The right which is included, which is paramount over other rights, is the right to constitutional consultation.”
