Read our editorial on the US imperialist war of aggression against Venezuela here.
Nicolás Maduro’s lawyer requested that his client’s phony drug trafficking indictment be dismissed, arguing that the United States violated Maduro’s due process rights by forbidding the Venezuelan government from providing funds that are already allocated for Maduro’s legal fees.
Barry Pollack, Maduro’s attorney, made the request at a Manhattan courthouse on March 26, where Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores appeared after enduring more than three months of confinement in various federal prisons since the US military abducted them during a violent raid in Caracas on January 3.
Pollack argued that “Mr. Maduro, as Venezuela’s head of state, has both a right and an expectation to have legal fees associated with these charges funded by the government of Venezuela.” Since Maduro cannot afford his own legal fees, the US has effectively left him without adequate defense, thereby violating the Venezuelan president’s right to defend himself in court.
A week before appearing in court, Pollack explained in an email to a judge that the US Treasury had, at first, authorized Venezuelan funds on January 9 but quickly reversed its approval without any explanation. Pollack also noted that the US is still allowing Venezuela to pay for Cilia Flores’s legal defense.
Presiding Judge Alvin Hellerstein said, “the right to defense is paramount,” but would not dismiss the charges on these grounds. Hellerstein did not issue a ruling about Maduro’s right to the funds, nor did he set a date for the trial.
The prosecutors representing US imperialism claimed, without evidence, that because Maduro had allegedly “plundered” the wealth of Venezuela, he should not be entitled to that country’s financial assistance.
Maduro said at his last court appearance, “I am a kidnapped president, prisoner of war illegally abducted.”
Outside the courthouse, anti-imperialist demonstrators gathered and chanted, “Free President Maduro!” while counter-demonstrators assembled to celebrate US imperialist domination of Venezuela.
Since Maduro’s capture in January, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and her administration have increasingly capitulated to US imperialism. Rodríguez’s government amended its Hydrocarbons Law, further opening its oil sector to US imperialism, and similarly signed away rights to mineral resources.
The Venezuelan people continue to take to the streets, demanding the release of Maduro and Flores while denouncing US imperialist aggression against their nation.
Image: A rally against the US war of aggression against Venezuela during Nicolás Maduro’s arraignment in New York City, January 5, 2026. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
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