Venezuela’s former leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared in a New York court on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to new charges of conspiracy to commit torture. The US government first accused Maduro of narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and weapons-related offenses, then added the torture-related charges against him and Flores last week.
The couple were captured in January during a US military raid and taken to New York, where they remain in jail. Both have pleaded not guilty to the allegations.
Maduro denies charges as judge enters plea
Maduro denied the new charges, telling the court he rejected what he called “false accusations and false testimony against me.” Speaking in Spanish through a translator, he said, “I reject this document entirely.” Judge Alvin Hellerstein interrupted him and declared that the court would enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
Flores told the court, through a translator, “I am completely innocent. I am not guilty.” Both wore beige jail uniforms and appeared to have lost weight during their detention in Brooklyn.
Prosecutors allege a violent system of repression
In the new indictment, prosecutors alleged that the couple “created and maintained a violent system of repression” that saw “thousands of Venezuelans” killed, harassed and tortured. The indictment lists alleged methods including “electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged isolation, starvation, punishment cells, and psychological torture.”
The US also accused Maduro of authorising torture “against specific individuals” and alleged that US citizens were tortured under this system. Prosecutors had already accused Maduro, his wife, his son and their accomplices of a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy and of partnering with cartels designated as terrorist groups. Maduro has previously described such charges as a tool to further “imperial” plans to gain access to Venezuela’s rich oil reserves.
Defense argues sovereign immunity and trial date
The couple’s lawyers argue that Maduro, as leader of a sovereign country, is immune from prosecution. They contend that the US taking him by force is illegal, and both have asked for the case to be thrown out on the grounds of sovereign immunity.
Flores unsuccessfully petitioned a judge to be released on bond while awaiting trial, arguing that she had heart problems and other health issues while held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The trial is scheduled for June 2027.
