US to allow Venezuelan government to cover Maduro’s lawyer fees

Defence lawyers had asked for case to be thrown out, claiming Maduro’s rights were violated following US abduction.The United States has agreed to ease certain sanctions on Venezuela in order to allow the country’s government to cover the legal fees for ex-president Nicolas Maduro, who is on federal trial in New York City for drug trafficking charges after being abducted by US forces in January.Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, had asked the Manhattan-based US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to toss out the case in February, arguing that a prohibition on the government in Caracas paying the legal fees constituted a violation of Maduro’s legal right to the counsel of his choice.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Venezuela’s Maduro set to again appear in US court: How strong is the case?list 2 of 3US judge weighs Trump decision to bar Venezuelan funds for Maduro’s defencelist 3 of 3US removes sanctions on Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguezend of listIn a court filing, US Department of Justice lawyers agreed to modify US sanctions so that the Venezuelan government could pay Maduro’s defence lawyer. They said the change makes the defence’s motion to throw out the case “moot”.The pivot is the latest update in a closely watched trial that has raised a series of legal questions based on Maduro’s status as a former head of state and how he was taken into US custody.Critics have condemned the proceedings as fundamentally illegitimate, pointing to the extraordinary US military operation to abduct Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from Venezuela. Legal experts have called the raid a blatant violation of international law.The Trump administration has maintained that the abduction was a law enforcement operation supported by the military. It has argued that Washington does not recognise Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela following several contested elections.Under the international law concept of “head of state immunity”, sitting world leaders are typically granted immunity from foreign national courts.