Before María Corina Machado’s return to Venezuela, the case against Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, was already unfolding in U.S. courts. Prosecutors accused them of conspiring to commit acts of torture against U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela, and both pleaded not guilty; according to documents cited in the press, the allegations include scenarios such as electrocution, beatings, and simulated drowning. The couple has been detained in Brooklyn since January, under strict conditions, without access to newspapers or the internet, but with the possibility of communicating by telephone with family and lawyers, while the trial is scheduled to begin on June 1, 2027.
Separately, Cilia Flores’s defense team requested that she be placed under house arrest, citing serious heart problems and arguing that she would not receive the necessary treatment in detention. Meanwhile, prosecutors were also considering the possibility of expanding the case with new charges related to the torture of U.S. citizens; the defense lawyers are challenging the legality of the capture and invoking immunity for acts allegedly committed during the term of office.
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