Maduro and His Wife Now Also Charged With Torture in the US

US officials announced on Thursday that former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, face new charges of torture in New York. These add to the narco-terrorism charges brought earlier. The couple has been in US custody since being captured in Venezuela on 3 January this year.

The allegations

The new charges concern the unlawful detention and torture of more than 10 US citizens in Venezuela while Maduro was in power. US Attorney Jay McDonald said the couple and other Venezuelan leaders secretly agreed to suppress dissenters through severe human rights abuses, ordering and tolerating violence, threats and physical torture. According to the prosecutor, many American citizens were subjected to unspeakable suffering.

McDonald stressed that the US and its law enforcement partners will keep working to defend victims of crime, especially Americans who suffer abuse abroad.

The US alleges that for more than 25 years the couple abused the public's trust, enriching themselves through corruption and staying in power through serious human rights violations. It is also alleged that Maduro used his posts to facilitate the smuggling of thousands of tonnes of cocaine into the US.

Background

Maduro led Venezuela's socialist regime from 2013 until 3 January this year, ruling in an authoritarian manner. During his tenure the country's economy was wrecked by mismanagement, corruption and sanctions.

On 3 January, US special forces captured Maduro and his wife in an operation in Caracas and took them to New York. Since then, the US and Venezuela's new government have expanded cooperation, particularly in the oil industry.

The trial of Maduro and Flores on narco-terrorism and other crimes is scheduled to start on 1 June 2027.