{
  "id": 13013458,
  "title": "New US Indictment Charges Maduro with Overseeing Machine of Repression, Torture of Americans",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/new-us-indictment-charges-maduro-with-overseeing-machine-of",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-09T02:30:42.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun",
    "slug": "the-japan-news-by-the-yomiuri-shimbun",
    "url": "https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/news-services/ap/20261009-352856/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The U.S. government has unveiled new, broad criminal charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accusing him and his spouse of leading a state-sanctioned system of repression responsible for torturing and abusing numerous individuals, including several Americans. The accusations include beating, asphyxiating, and administering electric shocks, with several instances of psychological torture, according to prosecutors. The charges further intensify the pressure on Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were apprehended in January and subsequently charged with drug trafficking in New York. U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald described the indictment as detailing \"conduct that is truly unthinkable,\" stating it represents \"the epitome of corruption.\" Maduro denies the allegations and anticipates his trial, while Flores' legal counsel has not yet reviewed the new claims. The indictment asserts that Maduro suggested torture methods, requested updates on the treatment of specific victims, viewed videos of forced confessions, and personally threatened the murder of one prisoner's child as an act of psychological torture. At times, he reportedly laughed upon hearing about prisoner abuse. Flores, a former attorney general, allegedly played a role in developing the repressive system and ordered the torture of certain individuals, according to the indictment. Maduro, who held the presidency from 2013 to January 2022, has been under investigation by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity linked to his crackdown on opponents. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing. Prosecutors allege that Maduro initiated the use of Venezuela's feared military intelligence agency, DGCIM, to employ torture against military insiders and opponents who opposed his authority. The indictment does not name the alleged victims, but the descriptions of their deaths and imprisonment align with those of several high-profile Maduro critics, including Leopoldo López, Raúl Baduel, and Fernando Albán. Three American victims of torture were also detailed, with one detained in early 2022, subjected to electric shocks, forced to ingest vomit, and imprisoned for eight months. Another was severely beaten, necessitating hospitalization, and had a gun placed to his mouth. A third was handcuffed, hooded, and beaten multiple times daily, resulting in a permanent eye injury. All three American victims were released in October 2022, along with six other Americans in exchange for the release of Flores' nephews, who were jailed in the U.S. on narcotics charges. The indictment asserts that torture is a grave crime under international law and can be prosecuted by any competent court, regardless of the victims' nationality. Kenneth Roth, a senior fellow at Yale University and former head of Human Rights Watch, emphasized that prosecution of foreign officials in the U.S. is rare, having been attempted only a few times, including against the son of Liberian President Charles Taylor, Russians responsible for war crimes in Ukraine, and a former prison warden in Bashar Assad’s Syria. The Venezuelan government has remained silent about these new accusations against Maduro, reflecting the difficulties faced by acting President Delcy Rodríguez as she attempts to maintain the security forces' loyalty while avoiding alienating President Donald Trump, whose backing she cannot afford to lose.",
  "summary": "NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. prosecutors unveiled sweeping new criminal charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Thursday, accusing him and his wife of heading a state-sponsored system of repression responsible for beating, asphyxiating, and delivering electric shocks to scores of victims, including several Americans.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Qatar Tribune",
        "title": "Maduro could face torture charges",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/maduro-could-face-torture-charges",
        "published": "2026-10-08T22:08:10.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}