US prosecutors expected to add torture charges for Maduro

Federal prosecutors in the United States are expected to bring additional charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, accusing them of taking part in the torture of Americans held in Venezuelan prisons, CBS reported. The broadcaster said other people may also be charged over the detention of more than a dozen Americans.

What are the new charges against Nicolás Maduro?

According to CBS, the new charges accuse Maduro and Flores of playing a role in the torture of Americans who were held in Venezuelan prisons. More than a dozen Americans were wrongfully detained by the Venezuelan government under Maduro, and additional people may be charged for their role in torturing them, CBS reported. The rights group Foro Penal says Venezuela has freed political prisoners.

Maduro’s attorney, Barry Pollack, told CBS he was not provided with notice about any additional charges. The BBC said it had contacted Maduro’s lawyer and the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan, which brought the charges.

When is Cilia Flores due in court?

Flores, who faces drug trafficking and weapons charges, is scheduled to appear in federal court in New York for a bond hearing on Thursday. The trial for both Maduro and Flores is set to begin in June 2027. US forces seized the couple from their compound in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, in a night-time raid on 3 January and brought them to New York to face charges for alleged weapons and drug offences, which they deny.

What charges does Maduro already face?

The US has accused Maduro of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy, and possession of and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. He and 14 others were first indicted in 2020, during President Donald Trump’s first term. Prosecutors have alleged that Maduro, his wife and son, and their accomplices engaged in a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy and partnered with cartels designated as terrorist groups. Prosecutors said the accused “abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States”. Separately, Maduro ally Alex Saab pleaded guilty in a US money laundering case.

What is Maduro’s defence?

Maduro and Flores’s lawyers have asked the court to dismiss the charges, arguing that he is the leader of a sovereign country and therefore immune from prosecution, and that the US taking him by force was illegal. The judge has not ruled on those requests. Maduro has previously described such charges as a tool to further what he calls “imperial” plans for getting access to Venezuela’s rich oil reserves; a US-led firm has won 100-year rights to 17 Venezuelan oilfields.

Frequently asked questions

What new charges could Nicolás Maduro face?

CBS reported that federal prosecutors are expected to bring additional charges accusing Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, of playing a role in the torture of Americans held in Venezuelan prisons. Additional people may also be charged.

When was Nicolás Maduro taken to the United States?

US forces seized Maduro and Flores from their compound in Caracas in a night-time raid on 3 January and brought them to New York to face charges for alleged weapons and drug offences, which they deny.

When is the Maduro trial due to start?

The trial for both Maduro and Flores is set to begin in June 2027. Flores, who faces drug trafficking and weapons charges, has a bond hearing in federal court in New York on Thursday.

What is Maduro’s defence against the US charges?

His lawyers have asked the court to dismiss the charges, arguing that he leads a sovereign country and is immune from prosecution, and that the US seizure of him by force was illegal. The judge has not ruled on those requests.

With reporting from BBC News.

Stock image, not from the events described. City Skyline — Joe deSousa / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)