Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are facing an additional charge of conspiracy to commit torture in a superseding indictment filed by federal prosecutors in New York.
The 30-page indictment alleges that the couple oversaw a system of political repression involving Venezuela’s military, intelligence agencies and security forces. Prosecutors say opponents were detained, tortured and silenced in an effort to preserve their grip on power.
The alleged abuse included electric shocks, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged isolation, starvation and confinement in punishment cells. Prosecutors also allege that detainees were subjected to psychological torture, including threats against their families and children.
Maduro and Flores were already charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
FBI director Kash Patel said the Venezuelan government had tortured more than a dozen American citizens while they were in custody, including through drugs, electrocution and sexual assault. “They will now answer for their crimes,” he said.
The couple were indicted by a federal grand jury in January over allegations that Maduro helped organise a scheme to import “thousands of tons” of cocaine into the United States and use the proceeds to enrich themselves, their family and senior Venezuelan officials.
They were taken into US custody during an overnight military operation and brought to the United States to face the charges. Both have pleaded not guilty to the original allegations.
Prosecutors claim Maduro ordered political opponents to be detained and tortured, received regular updates about interrogations and directed officials to intensify the abuse. During a briefing about a prisoner who was refusing to co-operate, he allegedly told officials to “squeeze them harder”.
During political unrest in 2014, Maduro allegedly proposed abducting five to seven military officers suspected of disloyalty and extracting information through torture. Prosecutors say Flores agreed to the proposal.
The indictment also details allegations involving US citizens held in Venezuela. One American detained in 2022 was allegedly injected with substances that caused seizures, while another detained in 2023 was reportedly severely beaten and tortured by Venezuelan intelligence officers.
One officer allegedly told the latter prisoner he had been kept alive because his US citizenship could prove useful in a potential prisoner exchange.
At a bail hearing for Flores, her lawyer asked for proceedings on the new charge to be delayed after receiving the indictment that morning. The judge allowed the delay.
Her lawyer also sought her release on bail under strict conditions, citing concerns about her heart. Judge Henry J. Ricardo refused bail, saying Flores had access to “considerable funds” and describing the allegations as serious.
“The evidence is strong, very strong,” Judge Ricardo said after rejecting the application.
The case is being prosecuted in the Southern District of New York, where Maduro and 14 others were first indicted in March 2020 during Donald Trump’s first administration.
