U.S. says Venezuela can pay for Nicolás Maduro and his wife's defense

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York say the U.S.

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York say the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued amended licenses authorizing defense attorneys for Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores de Maduro to be paid by the Venezuelan government.

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The move clears a major hurdle in the case, eliminating the risk of lengthy delays over funding disputes and the possibility of U.S. taxpayers footing the bill for their defense.

This development comes a month after a hearing where prosecutors argued Maduro had “plundered Venezuela’s wealth and should not be able to use its money for legal fees. Maduro’s attorney, Barry Pollock, countered that the U.S. government was improperly his client's ability to fund his legal defense. “He is entitled to use those resources to defend himself,” Pollack said.