US Blocks Venezuela From Paying Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's Legal Fees

U.S. authorities have blocked the Venezuelan government from paying legal fees for President Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores in the New York criminal case, according to their defense lawyer Barry Pollack.

“Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro speaks to supporters during an event at the Miraflores Presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Feb”

Associated Press

Pollack asked a Manhattan federal judge to dismiss the indictment on due-process grounds.

Associated Press

Pollack told the court that the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) briefly authorized a payment exception on Jan. 9 and then rescinded it hours later.

He submitted a signed declaration from Maduro saying he cannot afford his own defense and has chosen Pollack as counsel.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty to an indictment that accuses them and others of conspiring with drug cartels and military members to ship large quantities of cocaine to the U.S. and of ordering kidnappings, beatings and murders.

Pollack's central legal contention, reported across outlets, is that Venezuelan law and custom entitle the head of state to have legal defense costs covered by the government and that OFAC's rescission prevents Maduro from mounting a proper defense.

U.S. News and TRT World say an exception was granted on Jan. 9 and revoked within hours.

CBS News

U.S. News says the revocation occurred "less than three hours later."

CBS reports Pollack's email that the Treasury refused to authorize payments.

CBS also records the dates Pollack's letter entered the public record.

U.S. News notes that OFAC allowed fees for first lady Cilia Flores while rescinding Maduro's payment permission.

The criminal allegations and the circumstances of Maduro's capture are described differently across the pieces.

“Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 7:33 PM The attorney for Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro says the Trump administration is preventing Venezuela’s government from paying his legal defense costs in the drug-trafficking case”

Fine Day 102.3

All three outlets report that Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to a broad indictment alleging ties to drug cartels and violent acts.

CBS and TRT state the couple were seized in Venezuela on Jan. 3; CBS says they were "seized from their Venezuelan home on Jan. 3 in a nighttime raid," while TRT says they were "seized by US special forces in Caracas on 3 January."

By contrast, the U.S. News snippet says they "were seized in New York in early January during a U.S. operation," a discrepancy the articles do not resolve.

Prosecutors' claims that Maduro abused his power to aid traffickers are noted explicitly in TRT's coverage and summarized in U.S. News's description of the indictment's charges.

All three outlets record the defense’s constitutional claim and caution about trial fairness if payments remain blocked, but they emphasize different implications.

U.S. News quotes Pollack arguing the rescission "prevents Maduro from mounting a proper defense and would render any trial constitutionally defective."

Mathrubhumi English

CBS frames the action as potentially interfering with Maduro’s constitutional right to counsel and highlights that he and Flores are jailed without bail.

TRT places the fee dispute within a political narrative, noting pressure from the Trump administration and prosecutors’ broader allegations of abuse of power.

TRT also notes that Delcy Rodríguez is now running Venezuela.

None of the snippets include a response from the U.S. government, leaving the official rationale unclear in the available reporting.