Nicolas Maduro appeared in a New York federal court as a legal battle over sanctioned funds threatens his defense against narco-terrorism charges.Defense attorneys argue that the Treasury Department is violating constitutional rights by blocking Venezuelan government payments for legal counsel.The former leader and his wife Cilia Flores de Maduro have been held in a Brooklyn detention center since their capture in Caracas earlier this year.Both defendants pleaded not guilty to a multi-decade conspiracy involving the importation of cocaine and the possession of military-grade weapons.