Nicolas Maduro, wife face torture charge in new U.S. indictment

The United States has accused Venezuela's former leader, Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores of conspiracy to commit torture. This is in addition to the drug-trafficking and weapons charges they already face, which they have denied. The couple was detained in Brooklyn last January after being seized in a surprise early morning raid at their compound in Caracas, Venezuela's capital.

Human rights groups in Venezuela and former inmates have long complained about what they describe as "systematic torture" in Venezuelan prisons. The trial for Maduro and Flores is scheduled to begin in June 2027. They are currently held in a detention center in Brooklyn and are expected to remain there even after Flores's request for house arrest was denied.

The new accusations involve the alleged torture of US citizens detained in Venezuela while Maduro was in power. The indictment alleges that they conspired to maintain their rule by overseeing a system of repression involving violence against political opposition, arbitrary arrests, and torture of detainees, including US citizens.

The torture reportedly included electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged isolation, starvation, punishment cells, and psychological torture, such as threats to kill victims' families. Cilia Flores is accused of playing a key role in creating this repressive system, ordering specific individuals to be tortured and receiving updates on their torture to protect her family members engaged in illegal activities.

Former inmates like Javier Tarazona and Ángel Godoy have described similar experiences of arbitrary detention and isolation. The allegations in the new indictment correspond to cases from Maduro's time in power. Despite Maduro's removal, more than 300 political prisoners remain in custody, according to the organization Foro Penal.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned of ongoing torture reports even after Maduro's ousting, stating that "structural and systemic human rights concerns" persist in Venezuela.