Nicolás Maduro Denies Torture Charges in Expanded U.S. Indictment
Former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores face new torture allegations in U.S. court. Trial set for June 2027 as legal proceedings continue.
POLICY WIRE — New York, USA — Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro appeared in court on Thursday, dismissing newly unsealed allegations of state-sponsored torture against him and his wife as false accusations.
Maduro and Cilia Flores, both appearing in ankle shackles, faced a revised indictment that expands upon previous drug trafficking charges. The new filing accuses the couple of orchestrating a campaign of repression that involved the torture of numerous victims, including three American citizens.
During the hearing, Maduro twice refused to enter a plea, telling the court through an interpreter that the charges were rooted in false testimony. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ultimately intervened, entering a plea of not guilty on the former leader’s behalf.
Flores, the former attorney general, took a different approach, telling the judge through an interpreter that she had reviewed the Spanish version of the indictment and maintained her complete innocence. The couple was apprehended by the U.S. military during a nighttime raid at their Caracas residence in January.
Judge Hellerstein approved a new trial schedule, setting the start date for June 14, 2027. Defense attorney Barry Pollack, representing the 63-year-old Maduro, described the timeline as aggressive given the complexity of the new allegations but expressed hope that the schedule would remain intact.
The updated indictment alleges that Maduro oversaw a brutal system involving beatings, asphyxiation, and electric shocks. Prosecutors claim he personally suggested specific torture techniques and monitored the treatment of prisoners, even threatening the child of one detainee.
Flores, 70, is accused of helping to design this repressive apparatus and ordering the torture of specific individuals. The couple, who previously pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to traffic cocaine into the U.S., continues to argue that the case should be dismissed based on claims of foreign immunity.
Maduro served as president from 2013 until his capture earlier this year. The couple is expected to return to court for a subsequent pretrial hearing on December 17.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
