World · Latin America · 2 days ago
US adds torture conspiracy charges against Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores
US prosecutors have added conspiracy to commit torture charges against former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
They allege the couple helped run a system that detained and tortured political opponents in Venezuela, including US citizens.
The charges add to an existing US criminal case involving drug trafficking and other allegations.
Maduro and Flores have denied the earlier charges, and Maduro’s lawyer says he denies the new accusations.
They have been held in a Brooklyn detention centre since January, after US forces seized them in Caracas.
A judge denied Flores’s request to leave jail for house arrest on health grounds, but said the issue could be revisited if her health worsens.
A hearing on Maduro’s claim to head-of-state immunity is scheduled for November 17, and their trial is set to begin in June 2027.
US prosecutors have added conspiracy to commit torture charges against former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
The charges allege that they helped run a system of repression in Venezuela that included torture of political opponents and US citizens.
The allegations are part of an expanded case that already includes drug-trafficking and narco-terrorism charges.
Maduro and Flores are detained in Brooklyn, and a judge denied Flores’s request for release to house arrest on health grounds.
The couple deny the allegations, though reports differ on whether they have entered pleas to the new charges.
- Who
- Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were charged by US prosecutors.
- What
- They were charged with conspiracy to commit torture. Prosecutors allege they helped maintain a system of repression.
- When
- The new charges were made public on Thursday, October 8, 2026.
- Where
- The case is in Manhattan federal court in New York; the alleged abuses took place in Venezuela.
- Why
- Prosecutors allege the system was used to suppress political opposition and keep Maduro and Flores in power.
US prosecutors
Maduro and Flores
Allegations
US prosecutors
Prosecutors allege the couple helped create and maintain a system of repression involving torture and arbitrary detention.
Maduro and Flores
They deny the charges; Maduro’s attorney said he denies the new charges.
Flores’s release request
US prosecutors
Prosecutors opposed house arrest, citing an extreme risk of flight.
Maduro and Flores
Flores’s defence sought house arrest on health grounds, proposing private security and electronic monitoring.
All of this was done to ensure that Maduro and Flores retained their power
his client denies the new charges and looks forward to his day in court.
This conduct, we allege, has caused significant harm to Americans, to US citizens
There’s no pain.
Maduro and Flores were captured in Caracas during a US operation and taken to New York.
US prosecutors made the new torture conspiracy charges public in an expanded indictment.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied Flores’s request for release to house arrest.
A hearing is scheduled on the defence’s claim that Maduro is entitled to head-of-state immunity.
The trial is scheduled to begin.
- Defendants
- Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores
- New charge
- Conspiracy to commit torture
- Alleged victims
- Nine people, including three US citizens
- Detention
- Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn
- Trial date
- June 1, 2027
Sources
US charges Maduro and Cilia Flores with torture and repression in Venezuela
US files new torture charges against Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and wife Cilia Flores
US hits Venezuela’s Maduro and wife with torture charges
Nicolás Maduro and his wife indicted for alleged torture of US citizens
Venezuela's ex-leader Nicolás Maduro charged with conspiracy to commit torture
Nicolas Maduro and wife charged with torturing US citizens in new indictment
Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and his wife charged over torture allegations
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