Maduro 'plundered' Venezuelan wealth in court battle over legal fees, US prosecutors argue

A judge appeared sympathetic on Thursday to legal arguments that ex-Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores should be allowed to use Venezuelan government money to fund their defence. Maduro and Flores's attorneys asked the judge to dismiss the narco-terrorism case against the pair because the US has denied them use of the funds due to sanctions in place against the Latin American country. Prosecutors argued Maduro "plundered" Venezuela's wealth and should not be able to use its money for legal fees. The 92-year-old Judge Alvin Hellerstein, however, noted that "the right to defence is paramount". He said he would not be dismissing the case over the dispute. The judge said he would issue a ruling at a later time, including the next court date. US forces seized Maduro and Flores from their compound in Caracas in a dramatic, night-time raid on 3 January, and brought them to New York to face allegations of weapon and drug offences, which they deny. On Thursday, wearing green khaki prison jumpsuits, Maduro and his wife sat quietly with several lawyers in-between them as they listened to a translation of the arguments through headphones. The mood stood in stark contras