Judge weighs whether Venezuela can pay Maduro's legal costs in US drug trafficking case

A U.S. judge on Thursday questioned the Trump administration's legal justification for preventing Venezuela's government from financing Nicolás Maduro's defense in his New York drug trafficking case, where Maduro is currently detained. The hearing focused on whether Venezuela can fund the former president's legal fees despite the administration's opposition. The judge's skepticism suggests the court may be weighing competing claims about sovereign immunity and U.S. sanctions authority in an unprecedented case involving a sitting foreign leader's criminal prosecution.