Trump administration opposes Maduro's request to dismiss drug trafficking case

Source: msn/NBC News

12h


The Trump administration on Friday opposed a request by former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, to dismiss their U.S. criminal case. Maduro and Flores asked the court last month to dismiss the case, arguing the government improperly prevented them from using Venezuelan government funds to pay for their defense.

In a court filing, the Trump administration argued that Maduro and his wife remain free to use their personal funds, including jointly held funds, to pay their legal fees, but not money controlled by a separately sanctioned Venezuelan government entity.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers U.S. sanctions against foreign entities, “has granted the defendants an exception to those sanctions: authorization to use their personal (and joint) funds to pay their attorneys’ fees,” the government wrote. “OFAC, however, has denied the defendants’ request for an additional exception: to allow them to pay their legal fees from a slush fund controlled by a sanctioned government.”

Maduro’s attorney Barry Pollack noted in a court filing last month that OFAC had approved licenses sought by Maduro and Flores in January. The licenses were required to authorize funds transfers because of sanctions against Venezuela. But the government argued that OFAC had approved the broader authorization by administrative error and then amended the licenses. Attorneys for Maduro and Flores did not immediately return requests for comment.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trump-administration-opposes-maduros-request-to-dismiss-drug-trafficking-case/ar-AA1YDDBI