Maduro pleads not guilty to torture charges in US

Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have pleaded not guilty to a new US indictment accusing them of conspiring to torture political opponents. The additional charges significantly expanded the US criminal case against the pair, who were captured by the US military in January and flown to New York.

If convicted, they face mandatory minimum sentences of 50 years in prison. The trial has been postponed to 14 June 2027. The indictment alleges that Maduro directed officials to torture opposition politicians and military personnel, while Flores agreed with the plan and dismissed an alternative suggestion to infiltrate the ranks.

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