(NEW YORK) \u2014 After three months in jail, ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appeared thinner and grayer, but still in command, as he appeared in federal court in Manhattan for a status conference on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Maduro \u2014 was shackled at the ankles and wearing a beige smock over an orange shirt \u2014 nodded to the gallery and said \u201cgood morning,\u201d in English.<\/p>\n
Judge Alvin Hellerstein said he would not dismiss the narcoterrorism and other charges Maduro faces, but appeared to wrestle with how to assure Maduro had access to sufficient counsel.<\/p>\n
The defense argued the case must be tossed because the Treasury Department had not given the government of Venezuela a special license to fund Maduro\u2019s defense with funds subject to U.S. sanctions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to dismiss the case,\u201d Hellerstein said. However, the judge questioned the national security need for sanctions now that Maduro is no longer in charge and he and his wife, Cilia Flores, are in American custody.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see no abiding interest in national security in the right to defend yourself,\u201d Hellerstein said. \u201cThe right to defend is paramount.\u201d<\/p>\n
A federal prosecutor said Maduro should not be allowed to use Venezuelan funds after he was accused of plundering the country\u2019s wealth.<\/p>\n
\u201cA defendant has no right to spend a third party\u2019s money,\u201d prosecutor Kyle Wirshba said.<\/p>\n
Defense attorney Barry Pollack said the quality of Maduro\u2019s defense would suffer with court-appointed counsel, whose taxpayer-funded resources are often limited.<\/p>\n
Pollack said the allegations \u201cagainst these defendants occurred in Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hellerstein agreed that defending Maduro would come at \u201cgreat expense\u201d and deplete the resources of most public defenders.<\/p>\n
\u201cTruthfully, we have no case like this,\u201d Hellerstein said.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump said at a Cabinet meeting Thursday that he was hopeful that additional charges will be brought against Maduro and said Maduro should be charged for facilitating the transport of people and drugs into the U.S. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that charge will be brought at some point,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe emptied his prisons into our country and was a major purveyor of drugs coming into our country. \u2026 I would imagine there are other trials coming,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty to federal charges including narco-terrorism during their first appearance in court in January, and their attorneys have since pushed to have the case dismissed over concerns that the Trump administration is blocking the Venezuelan government from paying their legal fees.<\/p>\n
For more than a decade, Maduro enjoyed an opulent life as Venezuela\u2019s president, living in the neoclassical palace in Caracas and accruing a net worth reportedly in the millions. He allegedly owned multiple mansions, two private jets, millions in jewelry and cash, a horse farm, and a fleet of luxury vehicles.<\/p>\n
But he\u2019s pushing to have his case dismissed by arguing he doesn\u2019t have enough money to pay for his own legal defense \u2014 and his lawyers argue his due process rights will be violated if Venezuela is unable to pay for his lawyers because of U.S. sanctions on the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand that the government of Venezuela is prepared to fund my legal defense and it is my expectation that it will,\u201d Maduro said in a sworn declaration. \u201cI have relied on this expectation and cannot afford to pay for my own legal defense.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the Trump administration gradually warms relations with Venezuela, Thursday\u2019s hearing marks the second time that the ousted Venezuelan leader has appeared in a U.S. courtroom since special operations forces captured him in Caracas in January.<\/p>\n
The Department of Justice initially brought an indictment against Maduro and 14 other Venezuelan officials in March of 2020, arguing they committed narco-terrorism by conspiring with drug cartels to allow the flow of cocaine into the United States.<\/p>\n
Nearly six years later, prosecutors filed a new indictment charging Maduro, Flores, Maduro\u2019s son, and three others with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons offenses.<\/p>\n
Maduro \u201csits atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking,\u201d the indictment said.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors alleged that Maduro allowed \u201ccocaine-fueled corruption to flourish for his own benefit,\u201d including by providing diplomatic cover to drug traffickers and money launderers. Maduro has pleaded not guilty and denies being involved in drug trafficking. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c[Maduro] is at the forefront of that corruption and has partnered with his co-conspirators to use his illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States,\u201d the indictment said.<\/p>\n
-ABC News\u2019 Emily Chang, Michelle Stoddart and Fritz Farrow<\/p>\n
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