U.S. prosecutors add torture charge against Nicolás Maduro
Federal prosecutors made public a revised indictment charging Nicolás Maduro and his wife with conspiring to commit torture. The filing says the abuse was part of a scheme to keep power in Venezuela through repression and violence.
S. detainees. A revised indictment made public Thursday alleged that the deposed leader committed human-rights violations while serving as Venezuela's president. Prosecutors said the torture included electric shocks, starvation and threats to harm and kill victims' families.
S. Special Forces seized Maduro, 63 years old, and his wife Cilia Flores, 69, from their home in Caracas during a military operation earlier this year. S. Their trial is scheduled for June.
S. Both have pleaded not guilty. Maduro said during a court appearance earlier this year that he was innocent and still president of Venezuela. In the wake of his removal, Maduro's former deputy Delcy Rodríguez has served as the country's interim leader, with backing from the Trump administration.
S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said Maduro and Flores would be arraigned on the new charges in the coming weeks. During a hearing in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, Hellerstein denied a bid by Flores for bail. Flores, shackled and wearing black jail garb, listened to the proceedings sitting alongside her lawyers.
Lawyers for Flores argued that, due to health concerns with her heart, she should be allowed to await trial under home detention with 24-hour armed surveillance. S. Hellerstein said he took Flores's assurances that she wouldn't flee with "many grains of salt," noting that the narcoterrorism allegations and extraordinary amounts of drugs at issue contradicted her claims of respecting the law. In the revised indictment, prosecutors said that Maduro received updates on the torture of certain prisoners and at times suggested particular techniques.
" One American citizen who was detained in Venezuela was subjected to repeated beating and electric shocks to his testicles, according to the indictment. Another was handcuffed and for two days beaten with fists every half an hour, the indictment said. Maduro has previously faced allegations related to torture. A United Nations report in 2020 found that Maduro and some top lieutenants ordered extrajudicial executions, jailed political rivals and tortured protesters.
S. detainees who sued Maduro and other defendants over alleged torture. com (END) Dow Jones Newswires October 08, 2026 12:29 ET (16:29 GMT) Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. The statements in this document shall not be considered as an objective or independent explanation of the matters.
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