The lawyer for Nicolas Maduro has complained that US authorities are hindering Venezuelan officials from paying his legal fees, according to a legal document filed in New York, where the former Venezuelan president is being tried on drug trafficking charges. In a letter dated February 20, attorney Barry Pollak informed Judge Alvin Hellerstein that he had requested a special license from the US Treasury Department to receive his fees from Venezuelan authorities subject to US sanctions. Pollak explained that he obtained this license on January 9 from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for both Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, whom he also represents. However, according to the lawyer, the license was canceled only for Nicolas Maduro just hours after it was issued and without explanation. Pollak wrote: "By refusing to allow the Venezuelan government to pay Maduro's attorney fees, they are impeding his ability to obtain legal representation, and thus his constitutional right, guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, to have an attorney of his choice." The attorney added that he is not asking the judge for any action at this stage, but only wants to inform him of the situation. The 63-year-old Venezuelan president and his 69-year-old wife were transferred to the US in early January after their arrest in Caracas during a US military operation. They were formally charged with drug trafficking by a Manhattan court and were remanded to a federal prison in Brooklyn.
