Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro is scheduled to appear in a Manhattan courtroom Thursday for the first time since his arrest, as he moves to have the drug-trafficking case against him dismissed.

Maduro, 63, is arguing that U.S. government actions are undermining his defense in the narcoterrorism case, saying sanctions have prevented the Venezuelan government from paying for his legal representation.

His attorney, Barry Pollack, who previously represented Julian Assange, said the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control had initially granted permission for Venezuela to fund the defense, but later withdrew that authorization.

Federal prosecutors counter that Maduro has access to personal resources that could be used to pay legal fees, though he maintains that he lacks the means to do so.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, 69, have remained in custody at a federal detention facility in Brooklyn since their arraignment in January. Flores is also expected to be present at Thursday’s hearing.

During earlier proceedings, Maduro told the court: “I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.”

The couple was charged with narcoterrorism following a dramatic operation in which U.S. forces removed them from their residence in Caracas and transported them to the United States.

According to the indictment, Maduro is accused of leading a “corrupt, illegitimate government,” which “leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.”

A date for the trial has not yet been determined.