In short
- US federal prosecutors charged Venezuela’s former president Nicolás Maduro, 63, and his wife Cilia Flores, 69, with conspiracy to commit torture in a superseding indictment unsealed on Thursday.
- Maduro and Flores have been held at a detention centre in Brooklyn since January, after US forces seized them in a pre-dawn raid on their compound in Caracas.
- The indictment alleges the torture of detainees including US citizens and lists electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged isolation, starvation, punishment cells and psychological torture.
- Their trial is scheduled to begin in June 2027, and a judge denied Flores’s request to be moved to house arrest on Thursday.
- More than 300 political prisoners remain behind bars in Venezuela under interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, according to the prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal.
US federal prosecutors have charged Venezuela’s former president Nicolás Maduro, 63, and his wife Cilia Flores, 69, with conspiracy to commit torture, according to a superseding indictment unsealed on Thursday. The couple have been held in a Brooklyn detention centre since January, after US forces seized them in a pre-dawn raid in Caracas.
What are Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores accused of?
The torture conspiracy charge is in addition to the drug-trafficking and weapons charges already brought against the couple, which they have denied. Federal prosecutors also said on Thursday that Flores had been added to an earlier narco-terrorism charge.
Prosecutors allege the pair “entrenching themselves in power” by presiding over a system of repression that relied on violence against political opposition, arbitrary detention and the torture of detainees, including US citizens. The indictment lists electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged isolation, starvation, punishment cells and psychological torture, and says the psychological torture included threats to kill victims’ families, including children.
Speaking outside the courthouse, prosecutors said the alleged conduct had caused “significant harm to Americans, to US citizens” and called it “the epitome of corruption”. They allege Flores ordered that individuals be tortured and received updates on the torture of specific prisoners, in order to protect family members involved in illegal activities.
What does Maduro’s lawyer say?
Barry J Pollack, Maduro’s attorney, said his client denies the new charges and looks forward to his day in court.
Where are Maduro and Flores being held?
Both are being held at a detention centre in Brooklyn and are expected to remain there after a judge denied Flores’s request to be moved to house arrest on Thursday.
When is the trial?
The trial for both Maduro and Flores is set to begin in June 2027.
What has happened in Venezuela since Maduro was ousted?
After his ouster, his vice-president Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as interim leader with the backing of the Trump administration. Hundreds of political prisoners have been released under an amnesty law since she took power, but more than 300 remain behind bars, according to the prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal. Detained former leaders have become flashpoints elsewhere as well, as in Pakistan, where supporters of Imran Khan have marched on Islamabad to demand his release.
Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in March that his office had received reports alleging that detainees continued to be tortured after Maduro’s seizure, and that “structural and systemic human rights concerns” had persisted in Venezuela. Venezuela’s foreign minister at the time accused Türk of parroting the agenda of “extremists” by citing the allegations. Türk’s office has also published a report finding that US boat strikes could be crimes against humanity.
What have former detainees said?
Javier Tarazona, who heads a human rights group in Venezuela, told BBC Mundo that he and his brother were held in a tiny punishment cell for 46 days after being arbitrarily arrested.
Frequently asked questions
What is Nicolás Maduro charged with in the United States?
US federal prosecutors charged Maduro with conspiracy to commit torture in a superseding indictment unsealed on Thursday, in addition to earlier drug-trafficking and weapons charges that he has denied.
Where is Nicolás Maduro being held?
Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have been held at a detention centre in Brooklyn since January, after US forces seized them in a pre-dawn raid on their compound in Caracas.
When will Maduro and Flores stand trial?
The trial for both is set to begin in June 2027. A judge denied Flores’s request to be moved to house arrest on Thursday.
How many political prisoners remain in Venezuela?
More than 300 political prisoners remain behind bars under interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, according to the prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal, although hundreds have been released under an amnesty law.
With reporting from BBC News.
Stock image, not from the events described. Globe World — Jo%E3o%20Silas / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)