The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)dependence on United States Department of the Treasuryauthorized this Saturday, April 25, the use of funds from the Venezuelan State to finance the legal defense of Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who face drug trafficking charges in a federal court in New York, detailed EVTV Miami.
The decision was communicated by Manhattan federal prosecutor Jay Clayton to Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case in the Southern District of New York, according to reports from Bloomberg.
The measure involves the issuance of modified licenses that allow defense lawyers to receive payments from the Venezuelan government under specific conditions.
According to the US authorities, the authorization establishes clear restrictions: only funds available from the Venezuelan State may be used as of March 5, 2026, and the use of oil revenues retained in the US Treasury or previously blocked gold reserves is prohibited.
This change represents a shift in Washington’s position, after months of legal disputes over defense funding.
Initially, the sanctions prevented the use of Venezuelan public resources, which led Maduro’s lawyers to even request the dismissal of the case due to violation of the right to defense.
With the new scenario, the defense withdrew its request for dismissal, allowing the judicial process to continue. The court plans to set a new follow-up hearing in approximately 60 days.
Hellerstein had previously questioned the US government’s refusal to allow these payments, pointing out inconsistencies with Washington’s trade relations with Venezuela and the fact that Maduro is no longer in his country.
Maduro and Flores were captured in Fuerte Tiuna in the early hours of this January 3, 2026 and transferred to the United States, where they remain detained in the Brooklyn penitentiary center while facing charges for alleged narco-terrorist conspiracy.
