US prosecutors argue Maduro 'plundered' Venezuelan wealth in court battle over legal fees

A judge appeared sympathetic on Thursday to legal arguments that ex-Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cillia Flores should be allowed to use Venezuelan government money to fund their defence.

Maduro and Flores's attorneys asked the judge to dismiss the narco-terrorism case against the pair because the US has denied them use of the funds due to sanctions in place against the Latin American country.

Prosecutors argued Maduro "plundered" Venezuela's wealth and should not be able to use its money for legal fees.

The 92-year-old Judge Alvin Hellerstein however, noted that "the right to defence is paramount". He said he would not be dismissing the case over the dispute.

The judge said he would issue a ruling at a later time, including the next court date.

Maduro and Flores were seized by US forces from his compound in Caracas in a dramatic night-time raid 3 January, and were brought to New York to face allegations of weapon and drug offences, which they deny.

On Thursday, wearing green khaki prison jumpsuits, Maduro and his wife sat quietly with several lawyers in-between them as they listened to a translation of the arguments through headphones.

The mood stood in stark contrast to their first court appearance, when Maduro gave a speech lasting several minutes claiming he had been kidnapped and was innocent. That hearing ended with a man yelling at Maduro from the back of the courtroom.

Because the Maduros and the Venezuelan government are subject to US sanctions, they needed to obtain a licence to allow the government to pay their legal fees.

The US Government Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) initially granted that licence, then revoked it.

Prosecutors argued in court that the Maduros should not be able to access Venezuelan government funds over national security concerns and claim they have access to personal funds available to pay for attorneys, which the Maduros deny.

Under US law, Maduro, like every defendant, would be entitled to a court-appointed lawyer if he is unable to afford his own.

Judge Hellerstein appeared to side with Maduro lawyer Barry Pollock's argument that the unusual case against the former leader, taking place in another country, would be overwhelming for a public defender to take on and would hamper the counsel they provide.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, claimed OFAC was not allowing the Maduros to access Venezuelan government funds because of longstanding sanctions the US has had in place during his regime and because the couple had "plundered the wealth of Venezuelans" for their own gain.

Judge Hellerstein questioned that logic, saying that because of the Maduros' capture, that foreign policy situation had changed.

"We are doing business with Venezuela," he said. Since Maduro's arrest, former Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez has taken power and the country said it has resumed diplomatic ties with the US.

He also noted that the "Venezuelan government is willing to pay".

The judge appeared at a loss for how to resolve the issue, since Maduro's legal team was seeking to dismiss the whole case over it.

"What is the relief?" the judge asked both sides several times.

The US has accused Maduro of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

Maduro and his wife have yet to make an application for bail and have been held in a Brooklyn's federal Metropolitan Detention Center.

No trial date has been set.

During a Cabinet meeting on Thursday in Washington, President Donald Trump said the US was weighing bringing additional ‌cases against ​Maduro.

He also said Maduro would be given "a fair trial".

Residents of Caracas, Venezuela's capital, told the BBC they would be watching developments in court closely.

Ana Patricia, a 72-year-old retired lawyer, told the BBC that despite government censorship, everyone is trying to follow the process.

"They can control what Venezuelan media publish, but not what is published in the international press."

Regarding Maduro's fate, she said she felt a degree of sympathy: "He is a man who had everything but lost it through greed and an inflated ego. I feel sorry for him, because in the end he is a human being, but I hope he receives a life sentence. He has to pay for his crimes."

In western Caracas, Agustina Parra, a 67-year-old retired nurse, told the BBC that she has faith that "my President Maduro will be released".

"Despite his flaws, he has not been a bad president. He knows he is innocent and he will prove it."

Parra claims that the US government "doesn't even know what to accuse him of": "They accuse him of drug trafficking, of weapons possession… And I cannot accept the actions of President Trump in Venezuela, in which so many people died."