Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared in a New York federal court on October 15 to face an expanded indictment that includes new charges accusing them of conspiring to torture political opponents during Maduro’s presidency. Both pleaded not guilty to the additional allegations, which were unsealed by prosecutors on October 8 and broaden the scope of criminal accusations already facing the couple.
Maduro, 63, and Flores, 70, who have been held in U.S. custody since their capture in a January military raid on their Caracas residence, were arraigned before U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in Manhattan. The pair, clad in tan prison uniforms and shackled at the ankles, twice declined to enter a formal plea to the new charges; the judge subsequently entered a not guilty plea on Maduro’s behalf. Flores stated through an interpreter that she was “completely innocent” and “not guilty.”
The expanded indictment accuses Maduro and Flores of leading a state-sponsored system of repression that involved torture of numerous victims, including American citizens. Prosecutors allege the couple orchestrated acts such as waterboarding, beatings, electric shocks, asphyxiation, and forced injections to intimidate, harass, and neutralize political opponents and dissenters. One count detailed a 2022 incident in which Venezuelan authorities allegedly tortured a U.S. citizen accused of plotting to assassinate Maduro, employing methods that caused the victim to suffer seizures.
In addition to these torture-related charges, Maduro and Flores face longstanding accusations related to drug trafficking. Prosecutors contend Maduro used his position to protect and facilitate cocaine shipments from Venezuela to the United States by forming alliances with drug cartels. Both have pleaded not guilty to those charges as well.
During the hearing, Maduro denounced the new allegations as “false accusations” and reiterated previous claims that the charges against him are politically motivated. He has referred to himself as a “prisoner of war” in U.S. detention. Rights groups have widely criticized Maduro’s administration for political repression throughout his tenure from 2013 to 2026.
Judge Hellerstein rescheduled the trial, originally set for late May, to begin on June 14, 2027, citing the need to accommodate the additional charges. If convicted on all counts, Maduro and Flores face mandatory minimum prison sentences totaling 50 years or more.
The case marks a significant escalation in U.S. legal action against the former Venezuelan leadership, highlighting allegations of both drug trafficking and human rights abuses under Maduro’s government.