Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Expected to Face Additional Charges

Federal prosecutors are expected to bring additional charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, according to CBS, a media partner of the BBC. The new charges allege their involvement in the torture of Americans held in Venezuelan prisons. US forces captured Maduro and Flores during a night-time raid on January 3, bringing them to New York to face charges related to weapon and drug offenses, which they deny. The BBC has reached out to Maduro's lawyer and the US Attorney's office in Manhattan for comments regarding the new charges. Additional individuals may also face charges for their involvement in torturing over a dozen Americans wrongfully detained by the Venezuelan government under Maduro. Maduro's attorney, Barry Pollack, stated that he was not informed about any new charges. Flores is scheduled for a bond hearing in federal court on Thursday in New York. The trial for both Maduro and Flores is set to begin in June 2027. The US has accused Maduro of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices. He and 14 others were first indicted in 2020 during President Trump's administration. Prosecutors allege that Maduro, his wife, son, and their accomplices participated in a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy and collaborated with cartels designated as terrorist organizations. They claim the accused abused their public trust and corrupted legitimate institutions to import large quantities of cocaine into the United States. Maduro has previously described these charges as a means to advance imperial interests in accessing Venezuela's oil reserves. His legal team has requested the court dismiss the charges, arguing that he is the leader of a sovereign nation and thus immune from prosecution, and they assert that the US's actions to capture him were illegal. The judge has yet to rule on these requests.