NEWS
Torture Charges Are False – Ousted Venezuelan President Maduro Tells US Court, Pleads Not Guilty
Torture Charges Are False – Ousted Venezuelan President Maduro Tells US Court, Pleads Not Guilty
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro rejects fresh US torture allegations as “false” and pleads not guilty alongside his wife, Cilia Flores.
US prosecutors accuse the couple of overseeing a system of repression involving arbitrary detention and torture of political opponents and American citizens.
Superseding indictment adds torture conspiracy to existing narcoterrorism, cocaine-trafficking and weapons charges against Maduro and Flores.
Maduro challenges US prosecution on immunity grounds as court fixes June 14, 2027, for trial.
October 15, () – Ousted Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, on Thursday, rejected as “false” fresh allegations that he conspired to torture political opponents and American citizens, pleading not guilty alongside his wife, Cilia Flores, before a United States federal court in New York.
Maduro, 63, appeared in court in prison clothing and glasses, while Flores also entered a not-guilty plea to charges contained in a superseding indictment that significantly expands the criminal case against the couple.
Asked for his plea, Maduro rejected the indictment in its entirety and described the torture accusations as false.
Every second brings Nigerians closer to exercising their democratic right and shaping the future of our nation.
Exercise your democratic right responsibly, peacefully and lawfully.
Both defendants had previously denied separate allegations that they used their positions to facilitate large-scale cocaine trafficking.
The couple are now scheduled to stand trial on June 14, 2027, after the trial date was shifted to accommodate the expanded prosecution.
Channel
US prosecutors last week unveiled the superseding indictment accusing Maduro and Flores of conspiring for more than two decades to use torture and political repression to silence perceived opponents and maintain their hold on power.
According to the US Department of Justice, the alleged system involved Venezuela’s military, intelligence, judicial and law-enforcement institutions and targeted political opponents, suspected dissidents and detainees, including US citizens.
The indictment alleges that Maduro authorised torture against specific individuals after becoming president in 2013 and presided over a wider system in which detention and violence were used to suppress opposition.
Prosecutors allege that Maduro ordered officials to intensify torture against suspected opponents, while Flores supported aspects of the alleged repression. Neither is accused of personally carrying out the physical acts of torture.
The Justice Department said alleged methods used against detainees included electric shocks, asphyxiation, sexual assault, forced nudity, starvation, prolonged isolation and psychological torture, including threats against victims’ relatives. The claims remain allegations that prosecutors must prove in court.
One American detainee, according to the indictment, was allegedly deprived of food and water, subjected to simulated drowning and repeated beatings, given electric shocks and forcibly injected with substances while in Venezuelan custody.
The US government alleged that Maduro blamed Washington for instability threatening his government and that American detainees became targets within the broader campaign of repression.
The superseding indictment charges Maduro and Flores with conspiracy to commit torture, an offence carrying a maximum prison term of 20 years.
They also face narcoterrorism conspiracy and cocaine-importation conspiracy charges as well as weapons-related offences. Some of the existing counts carry mandatory minimum sentences and potential life imprisonment if they are convicted.
The Justice Department stressed that an indictment constitutes an accusation and that Maduro and Flores are presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
Maduro’s defence has meanwhile opened another potentially consequential front in the case, arguing that the former Venezuelan leader should be immune from prosecution because he headed a sovereign state.
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Thursday rejected as false fresh allegations that he conspired to torture political opponents and American citizens pleading not guilty alongside his wife Cilia Flores before a United States federal court in New York
Background
Maduro succeeded Hugo Chávez following Chávez’s death in 2013 and subsequently consolidated his control over Venezuela amid years of political turmoil, economic crisis, international sanctions and confrontations with the country’s opposition.
Washington had accused his government for years of human rights abuses, corruption and involvement in international narcotics trafficking, allegations Maduro repeatedly rejected as part of a US campaign to overthrow his government.
The US criminal case initially centred on allegations that Maduro and other Venezuelan officials worked with drug-trafficking organisations to move cocaine into the United States.
The case took an extraordinary turn in January 2026 when US forces captured Maduro and Flores in Caracas and transferred them to New York to face federal prosecution. Both pleaded not guilty to the earlier narcoterrorism and drug-trafficking charges.
The October superseding indictment has now widened the prosecution beyond alleged narcotics and weapons offences, putting accusations of torture, arbitrary detention and systematic political repression at the heart of the criminal case against Venezuela’s ousted leader and his wife.
DO YOU WANT TO WHISTLEBLOW, REPORT FRAUD, THEFT OR INJUSTICE OR INTIMIDATION? SEND US YOUR STORY/REPORT TO NEWSDESK@MEDIATODAY.NG
