{
  "id": 14835630,
  "title": "Ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Says New Torture Allegations Are ‘False’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/ex-venezuelan-president-nicolas-maduro-says-new-torture-allegations",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-16T01:20:05.000Z",
  "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/20261016-354004/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared in court on Thursday to face newly unsealed torture allegations against them. The charges, which expand from initial drug trafficking accusations, accuse the couple of leading a state-sponsored repression campaign that tortured multiple victims, including three Americans. Both Maduro and Flores were shackled at the ankles and refused to enter a plea, with Maduro calling the accusations \"false\" through a courtroom interpreter. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, however, entered a plea of not guilty on their behalf. Flores, 70, a former attorney general, stated that she is \"completely innocent\" and \"not guilty.\" The trial, originally scheduled for June 14, 2027, will now commence two weeks earlier.",
  "summary": "NEW YORK (AP) — Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro insisted in court on Thursday that newly unsealed torture allegations against him and his wife were \"false accusations.\"",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": "The expansion of charges from drug trafficking to state-sponsored torture marks a significant escalation in the legal efforts to hold the former Venezuelan leaders accountable for human rights abuses.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "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."
}