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Maduro, Wife May Face New Torture Charges
Confirmed
In Short: Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are expected to face new charges over alleged torture of Americans detained in Venezuelan prisons.
Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are expected to face new charges over alleged torture of Americans detained in Venezuelan prisons, according to reports from Arabnews (Saudi Arabia) and CBS News.
Arabnews reported that the new charges could come as soon as Thursday, while CBS News cited multiple sources familiar with the case.
The Southern District of New York, where Maduro and 14 others were first indicted in March 2020, is expected to bring these new charges. The case was initiated during the first Trump administration.
According to CBS News, federal prosecutors in Miami were ordered to open a new criminal investigation into Maduro amid concerns that the pending prosecution against him is weak.
Maduro and Flores were captured from their home in Caracas by US special forces on January 3 and brought to New York to face criminal charges including narcoterrorism conspiracy, as reported by Arabnews and the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong).
The South China Morning Post noted that Maduro, who led Venezuela for 13 years, and Flores were seized in a dramatic night-time raid and brought to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
The BBC (United Kingdom) reported that the new charges accuse Maduro and Flores of playing a role in the torture of Americans held in Venezuelan prisons while Maduro was in power.
Barry Pollack, an attorney for Maduro, told CBS News that he has not been provided any notice that additional charges could be coming.
The case against Maduro includes four charges: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices, as confirmed by CBS News and the BBC.
Maduro dismissed the accusations of corruption and drug trafficking as pretextual justifications for what he called a US desire to seize control of Venezuela’s oil reserves, as reported by Arabnews.
The trial for both Maduro and Flores is set to begin in June 2027, according to the BBC.
Several former detainees have accused Venezuelan authorities of abuse, as noted by Cbsaustin.
What this adds
The sources have not established the exact nature of the new charges beyond allegations of torture.
What's confirmed
- Maduro, 63, and his wife Cilia Flores, 69, were captured from their home in Caracas by US special forces on January 3 and brought to New York to face criminal charges including narcoterrorism conspiracy.
- The announcement could come as soon as Thursday.
- Maduro faces four charges: narco-terrorism conspiracy; cocaine importation conspiracy; possession of machine guns and destructive devices; and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
- Barry Pollack, an attorney for Maduro, told CBS News that he has not been provided any notice that additional charges could be coming.
- The sources said that additional people could be charged in their role for the torture of more than a dozen Americans who were wrongfully detained by the Venezuelan government while Maduro was in power.
What's still developing
- Washington called Maduro’s 2018 reelection fraudulent.
- During his first term in the White House, US President Donald Trump ramped up sanctions on Venezuela over allegations that Maduro’s government was corrupt and undermining democratic institutions.
- Prosecutors said Maduro was at the "forefront of the corruption" and that he and his associates worked with drug traffickers and narco-terrorists to flood the U.S. with drugs.
- 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.
- Maduro has previously called such charges a tool to further "imperial" plans for getting access to Venezuela's rich oil reserves.
- The BBC has contacted Maduro's lawyer for comment as well as the US Attorney's office in Manhattan which brought the charges.