Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife face a new criminal charge that they are responsible for the alleged torture of US citizens detained in the South American country.
Prosecutors in New York filed the new criminal count Thursday, adding to existing charges against Maduro, 63. The government specifically said that Maduro conspired in the torture of nine people, three of whom were US citizens.
Venezuelan officers detained an American identified only as “Victim-7,” who was tortured over two or three days, then transferred to a prison where he endured beatings, electric shocks, asphyxiation, forced injections and deprivation of food and water over 8 1/2 months, according to the new court filing. At least two other US citizens allegedly suffered similar torture and injuries.
“This is the epitome of corruption,” Manhattan US Attorney Jamie McDonald said after a court hearing Thursday. “We will stop at nothing to vindicate the victims of violent crime, particularly American victims subjected to horrific treatment abroad.”
The new charges are the first added to the case since the dramatic capture of Maduro and his wife in Venezuela earlier this year during a US military operation. At the time of the arrest, prosecutors accused Maduro of using his positions in government for a quarter of a century to enrich himself and help transport cocaine into the US.
Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, was in Manhattan federal court Thursday seeking to be released from jail, claiming US prison authorities can’t adequately manage her healthcare needs. A lawyer for Flores told a judge at a bail hearing that she likely requires heart surgery.
Lawyers for Flores, 69, asked US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to allow her to move into home detention, with a GPS location monitor and supervised by armed guards at all times. The judge denied the request, citing the possibility she could flee before trial and calling the government’s evidence against her “quite strong.”
Both have pleaded not guilty to the previous charges. Maduro has also said he is immune from prosecution as the former leader of a sovereign nation.
A trial date has been set for June and they could spend the rest of their lives in prison if convicted.
In the latest filing, prosecutors said that Victim-7 was arrested in January 2022 upon entering Venezuela. He was held at the Boleita Norte prison in Caracas, where he allegedly witnessed the abuse of other American prisoners.