🔴 Website 👉 https://u-s-news.com/
Telegram 👉 https://t.me/usnewscom_channel
OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
6:24 PM – Thursday, March 26, 2026
Abducted Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro has returned to court in New York seeking for the judge to dismiss his drug trafficking case, marking his second appearance since the Trump administration captured him in January.
Maduro’s lawyer argued in Manhattan Federal Court on Thursday that the United States violated his constitutional rights by blocking Venezuelan government funds from paying for his legal expenses.
They also claimed that the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) approved the use of Venezuela’s funds, but rescinded the approval three hours later.
“Mr. Maduro, who lacks his own funds to retain counsel, is being deprived of his constitutional right to counsel of his choice,” Maduro’s lawyers said in court papers filed in February.
“If OFAC’s interference with Mr. Maduro’s ability to fund his defense persists, undersigned counsel cannot remain in the case, nor can Mr. Maduro be represented by any other retained counsel,” his lawyers wrote. “Not only would the court need to appoint counsel and foist the cost of Mr. Maduro’s defense on the United States taxpayers, despite the willingness and obligation of the government of Venezuela to pay Mr. Maduro’s defense costs, but also any verdict against Mr. Maduro would be constitutionally suspect.”
However, OFAC said it had never allowed Venezuela to fund Maduro’s defense. In filings from March, it stated, “The inclusion in these licenses of an authorization to use funds paid by the Government of Venezuela was an administrative error.”
“I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country,” Maduro declared at his arraignment in January.
Former Venezuelan First Lady Cilia Flores, Maduro’s wife, was extracted along with him from Caracas and she also faces trial in New York for narco-terrorism. Both have pleaded not guilty, and neither of them have asked to be released on bail. The couple has been in custody at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center as they await their trial, which Judge Alvin Hellerstein has yet to set a date for.
Maduro is accused by the United States of leading the Cartel of the Suns (Cartel de los Soles), a drug-trafficking network involving high-level Venezuelan government officials that primarily transports cocaine from Colombia through Venezuela to international markets.
Court documents accuse Maduro of spearheading a “corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.”
Operation Absolute Resolve, which led to Maduro and his wife’s capture with no U.S. casualties, followed months of the Trump administration mounting pressure. In addition to building up a heavy military presence off Venezuela’s coast, the U.S. military struck several boats suspected of smuggling illicit drugs into the country.
Meanwhile, in Venezuela, Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, has succeeded his role and is cooperating with the United States as the countries work toward a transfer of power. Maduro remained in power over Venezuela through several elections that Venezuelan citizens, the U.S., and United Nations (UN) believe he stole.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news alerts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
What do YOU think? Click here to jump to the comments!
Sponsored Content Below