Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores Charged with Conspiracy to Torture Americans

<p>The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has charged former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores with conspiracy to commit torture against Americans and others, according to a superseding indictment filed on October 8, 2026.</p><p>The indictment alleges that Maduro's government oversaw a system of repression that involved violence against political opposition, arbitrary detention, and torture of detainees, including U.S. citizens.</p><p>Specific methods of torture cited in the indictment include electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged isolation, starvation, punishment cells, and psychological torture, such as threats to harm victims' families.</p><p>The charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if any torture resulted in death, and a maximum of 20 years in prison if it did not.</p><p>One incident described in the indictment involves a U.S. detainee in Venezuela who was reportedly beaten for days and doused with a noxious liquid that caused vomiting, which Venezuelan officers then allegedly forced him to consume.</p><p>The detainee, accused of plotting to kill Maduro, was also allegedly subjected to electric shock torture and injected with a substance that induced seizures.</p><p>According to the indictment, an individual identified as CC-3 observed the detainee being electrocuted and taunted him during the incident.</p><p>After spending eight-and-a-half months at Boleíta Norte prison in Venezuela, the detainee was released and returned to the U.S. in October 2022.</p><p>The indictment claims that Maduro and Flores inflicted severe physical and mental pain to suppress political opposition, silence dissent, and maintain their power, including through kidnappings.</p><p>Maduro and Flores, who face multiple other charges, were arrested in Venezuela in January during Operation Absolute Resolve. Maduro was previously charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns, and related offenses in a 2011 indictment unsealed by the Department of Justice in 2020.</p><p>Flores was charged in a superseding indictment in January with similar offenses. Both have pleaded not guilty, and a trial is scheduled for June 2027.</p><p>Flores appeared in court on October 8 for a bond hearing regarding her request for release from jail. Her attorneys sought home confinement with GPS tracking, citing a heart condition and arguing she does not pose a danger to the community. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied this request.</p><p>The U.S. government opposes her release, citing concerns that she poses a flight risk and danger to the public.</p><p>Flores' attorneys assert that she denies the allegations, and both she and Maduro have filed motions to dismiss based on claims of diplomatic immunity.</p>