Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were hit with an additional US criminal charge on Thursday, stemming from allegations that they tortured political opponents and American citizens to retain their grip on power, according to the sources. The superseding indictment, filed in Manhattan federal court, adds one count of conspiracy to commit torture to the existing drug-trafficking offenses already facing the couple. If convicted, Maduro and Flores face a mandatory minimum of 50 years in prison.
Flores, 69, and Maduro, 63, were captured by the United States military on January 3 at their residence in Caracas and subsequently transported to New York to face the initial narcotics charges. Relations between Washington and the oil-rich South American nation remained tense throughout Maduro’s 13-year socialist rule. Following the arrests, however, Venezuela has increased diplomatic and institutional cooperation with the US under the leadership of Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president.
Torture Allegations Detailed in Manhattan Indictment
While US officials and international human rights organizations have repeatedly accused Venezuelan state actors of torturing detainees over the years, Thursday’s filing marks the first time Maduro faced criminal charges over the allegations. Prosecutors detailed specific instances of abuse spanning his presidency, designed to eliminate perceived threats.
According to the court documents, Maduro ordered the arrest of a Venezuelan military officer in 2013 over suspected coup-plotting. Members of the Directorate of Military Counter-intelligence subsequently subjected the officer to brutal interrogations. Prosecutors stated that operatives shocked the individual with live electrical wires approximately 20 times and suspended the victim by their hands and feet for several minutes at a time.
A separate incident outlined in the indictment occurred in 2022, involving an American citizen detained upon entering Venezuela. Accused of conspiring to assassinate Maduro, the US national was tortured by military counterintelligence officers who administered beatings and electrical shocks to the victim’s arms, legs, and genitals.
Since the defendants were taken into custody, the US Justice Department “has been working to uncover the extent of their alleged crimes against the people of Venezuela and of the United States,” US Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a social media post.
Court Proceedings and Bail Denied for Flores
During a Manhattan federal court hearing on Thursday, Flores appeared alongside her defense attorneys, Mark Donnelly and Andrés Sánchez. Donnelly informed US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein that he had not yet had sufficient time to review the newly added torture charges with his client. Flores was not asked to enter a plea during the appearance.
Both Maduro and Flores previously entered not-guilty pleas to the drug-trafficking charges and have been housed at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn since their arrival in the United States. Their trial is currently scheduled to begin on June 1.
Judge Hellerstein rejected a request from Flores’ legal team to release her ahead of trial on medical grounds. Her lawyers argued that Flores requires a cardiac procedure and a more comfortable recovery environment, proposing her transfer to a guarded residence in the New York City area with round-the-clock private security. They maintained she poses no danger to the community.
Hellerstein ruled that the government's evidence against Flores was strong. The judge also observed that Flores, who wore a dark prison T-shirt and a headset for simultaneous Spanish translation during the proceedings, appeared relatively healthy. “For whatever it’s worth, her appearance today is no worse and perhaps a little better than when I first met with her on her arraignment,” Hellerstein said, referencing their initial court meeting on January 5.
“She was still bandaged up from the military invasion,” Donnelly countered during the hearing.
Federal prosecutors strongly opposed the release, arguing that Flores has received adequate medical treatment within the detention facility and that her release would present an “extreme” flight risk and a danger to the public, including the potential for witness intimidation. Hellerstein’s decision to deny bail leaves the June 1 trial date and potential penalties unchanged.
Flores served as Venezuela’s attorney general and headed its National Assembly before stepping into the role of first lady. Federal prosecutors assert that she personally accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from a major drug trafficker.
