Maduro, wife face new U.S. charges over alleged torture of Americans
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been charged in the United States with conspiring to commit torture, including against American citizens detained in Venezuelan prisons, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The new charge was included in an updated indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, October 8. Prosecutors accuse the couple of overseeing a system of repression involving arbitrary detention, violence and torture directed against political opponents and other detainees.
According to the indictment, Maduro authorized the use of torture against specific individuals after becoming president in 2013. Prosecutors allege that he received updates on the treatment of detainees, approved abusive interrogation methods and used security agencies to suppress political opposition. Flores is accused of helping maintain the system and ordering the torture of certain prisoners.
The indictment describes alleged abuses involving beatings, electric shocks, asphyxiation, sexual violence and deprivation of food and water. Among the reported victims were American citizens held in Venezuelan detention facilities.
In one case, an American detained in January 2022 was allegedly subjected to electric shocks, forced injections and repeated beatings. Prosecutors also described the detention of another U.S. citizen in January 2025 who was reportedly beaten repeatedly over two days, sustaining permanent damage to one eye.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said the allegations outlined a system of torture and repression used by Maduro, Flores and other senior Venezuelan officials to maintain political control. He said the alleged abuses had caused serious harm to American citizens and generations of Venezuelans.
Maduro's attorney, Barry Pollack, rejected the new allegations, saying the former president denies the charges and intends to contest them in court.
The additional conspiracy to commit torture charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Maduro and Flores already face charges related to narcoterrorism, cocaine trafficking and weapons offenses, to which they have pleaded not guilty.
Meanwhile, a federal judge on Thursday rejected Flores' request to be transferred to house arrest while awaiting trial. Her lawyers argued that her deteriorating health required treatment outside prison, but U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled that she posed a significant flight risk.
Flores has not yet entered a plea to the newly announced torture conspiracy charge.
Maduro and Flores were captured during a U.S. military operation in Caracas in January 2026 and transferred to New York, where they remain in federal custody awaiting trial.
Earlier, Qazinform reported that thousands of French students continued protests over teacher shortages and deteriorating school facilities.
