World

Maduro and Wife May Face New U.S. Charges Over Alleged Torture of Americans

By Akriti Anand

U.S. officials said that former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores could be charged with new crimes in the United States for allegedly torturing Americans detained in Venezuela. The charges could be filed as early as Thursday, according to a U.S. official who spoke to Reuters. The possibility of new charges was first reported by CNN on Wednesday, but details—including the identities of the alleged torture victims—have not yet been released. The U.S. has accused Maduro’s government of detaining Americans to pressure the country into easing financial sanctions. Americans classified by the U.S. as wrongfully detained during Maduro’s tenure include five oil executives arrested on graft charges, who were released in 2022 in exchange for two of Flores’ nephews who had been convicted in the U.S. of drug trafficking. Other detainees were two former U.S. Army Special Forces members arrested in 2020 in connection with a failed raid to oust Maduro; they were freed in 2023 as part of another prisoner swap, Reuters reported. A spokesperson for the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office, which brought the original charges, declined to comment. Lawyers for Maduro and Flores have not yet responded to requests for comment. Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, were seized by U.S. forces from their Caracas home on January 3 and brought to New York to face drug‑trafficking charges. They are held in a federal jail in Brooklyn, have pleaded not guilty, and are scheduled to go on trial on June 1, 2027. Flores is due to appear in Manhattan federal court on Thursday to ask U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to release her from jail before trial on health grounds; prosecutors oppose her release. Since Maduro’s capture, Venezuela has been led by his former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, who has increased cooperation with the Trump administration.