Maduro is charged with drug trafficking in federal court and is being detained in New York City
Nicolás Maduro has appeared once again in a New York courtroom as his legal battle continues to unfold. The case now includes a growing dispute over how his defense will be funded.
The couple appeared before federal judge Alvin Hellerstein for a hearing focused on how they will pay what are expected to be hefty legal fees as they defend themselves against federal drug trafficking and weapons charges, Reuters reported.
Maduro and his wife are seeking to pay their attorneys with funds from the Venezuelan treasury. However, such payments are blocked under U.S. sanctions on the Latin American nation, and the U.S. government does not want to provide a waiver, according to The Guardian.
Judge Hellerstein declined to issue a ruling on the funding dispute Thursday.
Following the hearing, Maduro quipped to his lawyer “hasta mañana,” before he was then transported back to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, the Associated Press reported.
Maduro and his wife were captured by U.S. forces in Caracas on Jan. 3 and rendered to the United States to face federal charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
The couple pleaded not guilty at their arraignment in January, where Maduro described himself as a “prisoner of war.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said at the time of the capture that America seeks to “take control” of the country — and its largest-in-the-world petroleum reserves — for the time being.
Nonetheless, Maduro’s United Socialist Party has remained in control of the country, with his second-in-command Delcy Rodriguez taking the helm as acting president.
Since taking office, Rodriguez has liberalized Venezuela’s restrictions on foreign investment in the oil sector while the U.S. has eased sanctions on the country’s petroleum.
