VENEZUELA’S kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday sought to have all the charges brought against him by the United States dropped.

President Maduro, who was kidnapped along with his wife Cilia Flores during an illegal US raid on January 3, also accused the Trump administration of sabotaging his ability to defend himself.

President Maduro’s legal team said the case should be thrown out because the US government has blocked the Venezuelan government from paying the legal fees for both him and Ms Flores.

In a filing to a Manhattan federal judge, President Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, said that by blocking the funds from Venezuela, the Trump administration was “interfering with Mr Maduro’s ability to retain counsel and, therefore, his right under the Sixth Amendment to counsel of his choice.”

Mr Pollack explained that any interference under the Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution requires the dismissal of all charges.

President Maduro and Ms Flores have been detained in New York without bail since their kidnapping by US forces in a bloody military operation that killed 100 people.

The US alleges that President Maduro and Ms Flores were co-conspirators in drug trafficking. 

President Maduro and Ms Flores deny the allegations and claim the prosecution is a manoeuvre to bring about regime change in Venezuela.
 
Both have maintained their innocence.