US prosecutors accuse Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores of conspiring to commit acts of torture

United States prosecutors on Thursday accused former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, of conspiring to commit acts of torture against US citizens detained in Venezuela. The new charges were included in an amended indictment and add to those involving drug trafficking and weapons offenses, allegations the two have denied.

Maduro, 63, and Cilia Flores, 69, have been held at a detention facility in Brooklyn since January. The two were captured by US forces in a raid carried out before dawn at their residence in Caracas.

According to prosecutors, the former presidential couple consolidated their power through a system of repression based on violence against the opposition, arbitrary detention and torture. The document mentions electric shocks, asphyxiation, rape, forced stripping, prolonged isolation, starvation and threats against victims' families.

Cilia Flores is accused of having played a central role in the operation of the repressive system, including by ordering acts of torture and receiving information about the treatment of detainees. The charges are also supported by testimony from former Venezuelan detainees, who described lengthy periods of isolation and punishment cells. The trial is scheduled to begin in June 2027.