U.S. Prosecutors Add Torture Conspiracy Charge Against Maduro and His Wife

U.S. prosecutors have added a charge of conspiracy to commit torture against Venezuela's former leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, according to the BBC. The superseding indictment was unsealed on Thursday. The new accusations concern the alleged torture of U.S. citizens held in Venezuela while Maduro was in power.

The torture charge comes on top of drug-trafficking and weapons charges already filed against the couple, which they have denied. Their trial is set to begin in June 2027, the BBC reported.

What the indictment alleges

The indictment accuses the couple of entrenching themselves in power by presiding over a system of repression, according to the BBC's account of the document. That system allegedly relied on violence against political opponents, arbitrary detention and the torture of detainees, including U.S. citizens.

The document lists methods that include electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged isolation, starvation and punishment cells. It also alleges psychological torture, including threats to kill victims' families and children. Prosecutors say the aim of the repression was to keep Maduro and Flores in power.

The role prosecutors assign to Flores

Prosecutors accuse Flores of playing a key role in building the repressive system. They allege she ordered that people be tortured and received updates on the treatment of specific prisoners. According to the court document, she acted to protect relatives who were involved in illegal activities.

Where the couple are now

Maduro is 63 and Flores is 69. The BBC reported that they have been held since January at a detention center in Brooklyn, after U.S. forces seized them in a pre-dawn raid on their compound in Caracas, Venezuela's capital.

Echoes of earlier testimony

The BBC noted that the allegations resemble claims long made by released prisoners and Venezuelan human rights groups, which have described what they call systematic torture in the country's jails. Javier Tarazona, who leads a human rights group in Venezuela, told BBC Mundo that he and his brother were held in a tiny punishment cell for 46 days after an arbitrary arrest. Another former inmate, Ángel Godoy, said he was kept isolated for months and barred from contacting his wife, who did not know where he was.

Why it matters

The new charge widens the case beyond drug and weapons allegations to include the treatment of U.S. citizens held abroad. That ties the prosecution more directly to alleged harm to Americans and to claims of human rights abuses that rights groups have raised for years. The indictment's claims are allegations; Maduro and Flores have denied the earlier charges, and the BBC's report did not include a response to the torture charge.

What happens next

The trial for both defendants is scheduled to start in June 2027. Until then, the couple remain in custody in Brooklyn.

Source: BBC News