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Maduro and Flores Plead Not Guilty to New Torture Charges
Confirmed
In Short: Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores appeared in a New York City court on Thursday, pleading not guilty to new charges of conspiracy to commit torture.
Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores appeared in a New York City court on Thursday, pleading not guilty to new charges of conspiracy to commit torture, according to reports from Al Jazeera (Qatar), BBC (United Kingdom), and France 24 (France).
Al Jazeera (Qatar) reported that Maduro and Flores were captured in a United States military raid in January and have since been held in New York. The couple, dressed in beige prison uniforms, denied the allegations, which include creating a repressive environment that led to the torture and killing of thousands of Venezuelans and U.S. citizens, as stated by Wvoc.
According to Al Jazeera (Qatar), the new indictment alleges that Maduro and Flores oversaw a system of torture, arbitrary detention, and violence as a means to target individuals viewed as disloyal or a threat to their illegal narcotics activity, as well as a means of repression against the political opposition.
BBC (United Kingdom) and France 24 (France) reported that Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to the new charges, calling them “false accusations” and “false allegations.” Maduro said during the appearance on Thursday, “I reject this document in its entirety,” as quoted by Al Jazeera (Qatar).
The indictment, as reported by Al Jazeera (Qatar), includes several instances where Maduro and Flores are alleged to have specifically identified individuals to be targeted, asked for updates on the torture, or suggested techniques. In one instance in 2014, Maduro urged his enforcers to work harder to extract information from detained military personnel.
Al Jazeera (Qatar) and BBC (United Kingdom) reported that the new indictment also pointed to several instances where Maduro suggested sleep deprivation and pouring water on detainees, and where abuses committed under Maduro’s rule included beatings, electrocutions, and threatening family members of detainees.
The alleged torture methods included “electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged isolation, starvation, punishment cells, and psychological torture,” according to the indictment, as stated by Telesurenglish, Jpost (Israel), and The Jerusalem Post (Israel).
US Attorney Jamie McDonald said last week that the couple had for more than two decades “engaged in a conspiracy to commit torture, including the torture of United States citizens, in addition to the narcotics trafficking and weapons offences already charged,” as reported by Al Jazeera (Qatar).
The couple had previously pleaded not guilty to several other charges, including narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy, and possession of machineguns and destructive devices, as reported by Al Jazeera (Qatar).
During his initial hearing in January, Maduro also said he had been “kidnapped” by the US military, as reported by Al Jazeera (Qatar).
In this way, according to the indictment, Maduro sought to remain in power, as reported by ColombiaOne.com.
The judge postponed the start of the trial until June 14, 2027, which initially had been set for June 1, as reported by Telesurenglish.
Background
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.
What's confirmed
- “I reject this document in its entirety,” Maduro said during the appearance on Thursday.
- Maduro and wife appear in New York City court after new ‘conspiracy to commit torture’ charges.
- Maduro and Flores were captured in January during a US military raid, after which they were taken to New York, where they remain in jail.
- "false accusations and false testimony against me."
- The alleged torture methods included "electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged isolation, starvation, punishment cells, and psychological torture", the indictment states.
- Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty on Thursday to new torture charges brought against them by US authorities, calling them “false allegations".
- Maduro and Flores, captured by the US military in a January raid ordered by President Donald Trump and flown to New York, entered their pleas at an arraignment before US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan federal court.
What's still developing
- US prosecutors did not accuse Maduro or Flores of directly taking part in the torture.
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