In short
- Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores were indicted in Manhattan federal court on 8 October 2026 for alleged conspiracy to commit torture.
- Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied Cilia Flores’s request for pretrial release at a hearing held on the same day the superseding indictment was unsealed.
- The indictment alleges a US citizen detained in Venezuela was subjected to simulated drowning, repeated beatings, electric shock to his testicles and forced injections.
- Maduro and Flores have been held in New York City since early January, after US special forces captured them in a predawn assault on Caracas.
- Venezuela holds approximately 303bn barrels of proven oil reserves; in August Trump said the US would have “majority” control over 65bn barrels under an oil agreement.
Nicolás Maduro, the deposed Venezuelan president, and his wife Cilia Flores have been indicted in Manhattan federal court for alleged conspiracy to commit torture, according to court papers unsealed on 8 October 2026. Both have been held in New York City since early January.
What does the superseding indictment allege?
The charging document says Maduro, Flores and other Venezuelan leaders “presided over a system of repression that relied on violence against political opposition, arbitrary detention, and the torture of detainees, including United States citizens”. Maduro and Flores, it alleges, “sat atop that violent power structure”.
Prosecutors claim Flores “helped develop this system of repression and ordered that individuals be tortured to protect her family members’ illegal activities”. The pair and their co-conspirators used the structure “corruptly to amass immense wealth and power”, the indictment says. US prosecutors had already charged Nicolás Maduro with torture conspiracy.
Who were the alleged victims?
The indictment says victims included US citizens “who were believed to pose a threat” to Maduro’s power. One US citizen detained in Venezuela was subjected to “deprivation of food and water, simulated drowning, repeated beatings, electric shock to his testicles, and forced injections”.
In another alleged case, a detained official’s family member was “forced to drink latrine water”, assaulted with tear gas in a cell and held in a cold room known as the “Freezer”, where a light was left on and music played on repeat. The official relented and blocked opposition figures from running for office, the papers state.
A separate account describes a suspected opponent’s friend being asphyxiated with a bag, given electric shocks to his testicles and knees, and kicked and beaten with a blunt object. Another victim was threatened “that his daughter would be kidnapped and raped if he did not confess”, court papers state.
Why was Cilia Flores denied pretrial release?
Flores’s attorneys asked Judge Alvin Hellerstein for house arrest with 24-hour private security, citing chronic health problems including cardiac conditions. Hellerstein denied the request, noting Flores had declined catheterization while held in the general population. “There’s no pain. There’s no general anesthesia,” he said. Her lawyers said she had lost more than 25lbs and two teeth since her detention.
The US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, which is prosecuting the case, opposed release, arguing Flores was a flight risk and had received appropriate medical care.
How did Maduro and Flores arrive in US custody?
US special forces captured the pair in a predawn assault on Caracas and brought them to New York to face “narcoterrorism”-related charges. Both have pleaded not guilty. The operation drew widespread international outrage, and US military action in the Americas faces separate legal scrutiny: a UN report found that US boat strikes could be crimes against humanity.
Donald Trump defended the raid as a “surgical law enforcement operation”. At his first US court appearance, Maduro said: “I’m a kidnapped president – a prisoner of war!”
What has Donald Trump said about Venezuela’s oil?
In August, Trump announced an oil agreement with Venezuela, saying the US would have “majority” control over 65bn barrels of proven reserves. Venezuela holds approximately 303bn barrels of proven reserves, the largest in the world. Trump has faced pressure over rising gas prices ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Frequently asked questions
What is Nicolás Maduro accused of?
A superseding indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court on 8 October 2026 accuses Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores of conspiracy to commit torture, alleging they presided over a system of repression that targeted detainees, including US citizens.
Why was Cilia Flores denied bail?
Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied her request for house arrest with 24-hour private security. Prosecutors argued she was a flight risk, while her lawyers cited chronic health problems including cardiac conditions.
Where are Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores being held?
Both have been jailed in New York City since early January, after US special forces captured them in a predawn assault on Caracas.
What has Donald Trump said about the raid that captured Maduro?
Donald Trump has defended the operation as a “surgical law enforcement operation”. Maduro said at his first US court appearance: “I’m a kidnapped president – a prisoner of war!”
With reporting from The Guardian.
Stock image, not from the events described. Globe World — Jo%E3o%20Silas / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)