DEVELOPING: Nicolás Maduro's lawyer claimed during the reporting window from 9:16 PM to 9:46 PM UTC on February 25, 2026, that the U.S. Treasury Department refuses to lift sanctions, preventing the Venezuelan regime from funding its legal defense in the United States, according to OrlvndoA on X. The lawyer stated that Maduro has no means to finance his defense due to these restrictions. This assertion follows recent resignations of Attorney General Tarek William Saab and Ombudsman Alfredo Ruiz, who submitted letters to the National Assembly between 8:46 PM and 9:16 PM UTC earlier that evening to enable new appointments, as reported by Victor Amaya and Puzkas on X in the prior 30-minute period. The claim emerges amid ongoing political tensions, including the regime's confiscation of opposition figure Laura Acosta's home in Caracas during the same earlier window, per Emma Rincon on X. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had called for fair elections in Venezuela at a CARICOM meeting earlier on February 25, according to Rincon's previous post. No official response from the U.S. Treasury or Venezuelan National Assembly to the lawyer's claim was reported in this 29-minute window.
