U.S. Charges Former Venezuelan President Maduro and Wife with Conspiracy to Torture
U.S. prosecutors have added a conspiracy-to-torture count to the indictment against former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his spouse Cilia Flores, who already face drug-trafficking charges.
In a revamped indictment, U.S. prosecutors have charged former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores with conspiracy to torture political opponents, adding to the drug-trafficking accusations they already face. The indictment, filed in Manhattan, invokes the 1994 federal torture law, a statute applied to only seven other individuals and rarely used against foreign officials. Prosecutors say the conspiracy was intended to silence dissent and preserve Maduro’s rule, citing incidents such as a 2018 beating with a machete and chemical irritant.
The new charge could let the government introduce testimony from alleged victims, including three U.S. citizens, potentially strengthening the case. Defense counsel plans to revisit a sovereign-immunity motion, insisting the couple is completely innocent. The trial is scheduled for June 2027, representing an unprecedented prosecution of a former head of state for alleged torture.
Why it matters
It is the first U.S. prosecution of a former head of state for alleged torture, highlighting the reach of American human-rights statutes.
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