"The lawyer argued that the Treasury Department was interfering with Mr. Maduro's ability to retain counsel and his Sixth Amendment right to choose his own attorney. The government of Venezuela has an obligation to pay Mr. Maduro's fees, Pollack wrote. Mr. Maduro has a legitimate expectation that the government of Venezuela will do so."
"The letter said that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had granted Maduro's counsel a license on January 9, but three hours later amended it. The amended license does not authorize Pollack from receiving funds from the Venezuelan government, now headed by Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro's vice president."
"In recent weeks, within the framework of the oil agreements that Washington is overseeing in Caracas, the OFAC has granted licenses for U.S. companies and individuals to conduct transactions with Venezuelan institutions without fully lifting the sanctions regime imposed on the South American country since 2019."
Nicolas Maduro, detained in Brooklyn after a January 3 military intervention, faces legal representation challenges due to U.S. Treasury sanctions blocking Venezuelan government payments for his attorney Barry Pollack's services. Pollack argues the Treasury Department is violating Maduro's Sixth Amendment right to counsel by preventing the Venezuelan government from paying legal fees. The Office of Foreign Assets Control initially granted a license on January 9 but amended it three hours later, removing authorization for fund transfers. Despite repeated requests, Treasury has not reinstated the original license. The case highlights tensions between sanctions enforcement and constitutional protections, with selective OFAC licenses granted for oil transactions but not legal defense payments.
Read at english.elpais.com
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