Venezuelan government can fund Maduros' legal fees

April 25 (UPI) -- Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Celia Flores can pay their attorneys with money from the Venezuelan government, ending a monthlong legal standoff.

Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys wrote a joint letter to Judge Alvin Hellerstein filed Friday night saying that the Department of Treasury would amend a license allowing payments to the Maduros' lawyers without violating U.S. sanctions laws.

In the letter, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton listed strict conditions on the funds: they must have become available after March 5, 2026, and can't be from restricted foreign government deposit accounts. The prosecution said the newly issued licenses to transfer the funds resolve the dispute that had led to the defendants asking for dismissal, and the defense has since withdrawn those motions without prejudice.

The Maduros and Venezuela have been subject to U.S. sanctions for years. On March 26, Maduro's attorney argued that the case against them should be dismissed because they were unable to pay their attorney fees. The sanctions disallowed them from accessing funds from the Venezuelan government.

Prosecutors had argued that they could use personal funds, but the Maduros argued they didn't have any. Hellerstein said he wouldn't dismiss the case but questioned the need for sanctions now that Maduro was in custody in the United States.

"I see no abiding interest in national security in the right to defend yourself," Hellerstein said. "The right to defend is paramount."

Maduro and Flores were captured by the U.S. government in early January. They were taken to New York and charged on federal drug trafficking and weapons charges. The U.S. government then installed Delcy Rodriguez as the new president of Venezuela.

Since then, Maduro has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

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This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 12:10 PM.