US Prosecutors Add Torture Charges Against Maduro and Wife Cilia Flores Over Detained Americans

Federal prosecutors in New York unsealed a new indictment on Thursday, October 8, charging former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores with conspiring to torture American citizens held in Venezuelan government custody. The charges add to an already substantial criminal case against the couple, who were arrested in a U.S. military raid on their Caracas residence in January and brought to New York, where they have been held without bail.

Maduro and Flores already face four counts in the existing indictment, including narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy, stemming from allegations that Maduro orchestrated the smuggling of thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States. The new torture charges relate to the wrongful detention and alleged abuse of more than a dozen American citizens held in Venezuelan government prisons during Maduro's rule. Prosecutors are also said to have discussed charging additional individuals for their alleged roles in the torture.

The couple has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Maduro's legal team is challenging the legality of the arrest and arguing he should be immune from prosecution for conduct that occurred while he was in office, though the Venezuelan government has declined to assert immunity on his behalf. A trial date has been tentatively set for June 2027 in the Southern District of New York, before U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.