Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and his wife charged over torture allegations

What the report says

Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been charged in New York with conspiring to commit torture, according to a Manhattan federal indictment reported by Al Jazeera. The new count is added to an existing US case that already accused the couple of drug trafficking and weapons-related offenses. The allegations center on claims that they helped sustain a system of abuse used to suppress political opponents and protect their hold on power.

Al Jazeera reported that prosecutors say the alleged conspiracy involved Venezuelan military, intelligence and law enforcement officials and stretched from at least 1999 through 2025. The indictment describes several episodes of alleged torture, including electric shocks, asphyxiation and beatings. It also says some abuses involved US citizens detained in Venezuela. Prosecutors allege Maduro was briefed on detainee treatment and at times encouraged officials to intensify pressure, while Flores was present at some meetings where detention cases were discussed.

The filing expands an already serious criminal case against the couple and raises the stakes in a long-running US effort to pursue allegations tied to Maduro’s government. Al Jazeera’s report says Maduro and Flores had earlier pleaded not guilty to the drug charges and were being held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, with trial set for June 2027. More broadly, the case underscores deep political conflict between the Venezuelan government and the United States, though the court allegations themselves remain subject to proof in court.