Maduro and wife deny US torture charges; trial set for June 2027
In short
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, denied new US torture allegations in a Manhattan federal court. The judge entered a not-guilty plea for Maduro after he rejected the accusations, while Flores pleaded not guilty; their trial was moved to June 14, 2027.
Read the full story 2 min read
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro rejected new US torture allegations in a Manhattan federal courtroom on October 15, while his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty. According to the Associated Press report published by The Seattle Times, Maduro twice declined a judge's request to enter a plea and instead denounced the accusations as false through an interpreter. Judge Alvin Hellerstein then entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf. The New York Post also reported the judge's intervention. [ 2 , 9 ]
Flores told the judge through an interpreter that she had read a Spanish version of the new indictment and was innocent, the AP report said. Hellerstein approved a revised schedule moving the trial back two weeks to June 14, 2027. Maduro's lawyer Barry Pollack agreed to the government's request for the new date, while describing the schedule as very aggressive in light of the additional allegations, according to the AP report. [ 2 ]
The rewritten indictment expands an existing drug-trafficking case to accuse the couple of leading a state-sponsored campaign of repression involving the torture of scores of victims, including three Americans. AP reporting published by The Boston Globe and ABC News says the indictment alleges that Maduro recommended torture methods and received updates on individual victims. It also alleges that Flores helped develop the system and ordered the torture of specific people. The allegations extend back to Maduro's ascent to the presidency in 2013, those reports said. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
The couple had previously pleaded not guilty in the US drug case, and their lawyers argue it should be dismissed on immunity grounds because they were a foreign country's leader and first lady, according to The Boston Globe and ABC News. The reports say US forces seized them from their Caracas home in January. The New York Post reported that both remain held without bail in Brooklyn and are due back in court on December 17. [ 3 , 5 , 9 ]
Why it matters
The rewritten indictment adds torture allegations to the couple's existing drug-trafficking case. The new charges prompted a two-week delay to their trial.
Key facts
- Maduro rejected the new torture allegations in court, and Judge Alvin Hellerstein entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf. [ 2 , 9 ]
- Flores pleaded not guilty to the new charges. [ 2 , 8 , 9 ]
- The rewritten indictment accuses the couple of leading a repression campaign involving torture, including of three Americans. [ 2 , 3 , 5 ]
- The trial is scheduled to begin June 14, 2027, two weeks later than previously set. [ 2 , 9 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Whether prosecutors will prove the torture allegations. The documents describe charges that the defendants deny, with a trial still to come.