charges when he appears in a New York court Thursday. The Manhattan hearing comes as Washington cautiously warms ties with Caracas, with the question of who will pay the legal fees of the former autocrat and his wife expected to take center stage. Venezuela's government is seeking to pay Maduro's legal fees but because of Washington's sanctions on the oil-rich south American nation, Maduro's lawyer Barry Pollack must obtain a US government license that has not been issued. Pollack argued in a court submission that the license requirement violated Maduro's constitutional right to legal representation, and demanded the case be thrown out on procedural grounds. Maduro, who autocratically ruled Venezuela since March 2013, was ousted as president in a January 3 raid by the United States.

Detained in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal prison known for unsanitary conditions, Maduro is alone in a cell, with no access to the internet or newspapers. The man some of his fellow detainees call "president" in the hallways reads the Bible, according to a source close to the Venezuelan government. He is only allowed to communicate by phone with his family and lawyers, for a maximum of 15 minutes per call, the source added. "The lawyers told us he is strong. He said we must not be sad," said his only son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, quoting his father as saying "we are fine, we are fighters." (Bssnews)