Maduro Faces New U.S. Torture Charges as Wife Seeks Release from Brooklyn Jail

Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been charged by U.S. authorities with torture and other crimes in a new indictment unsealed Thursday, adding fresh legal pressure on the ousted leader who is already fighting drug trafficking offenses in a New York federal court.

The new allegations concern human rights abuses committed during Maduro's time as president of the oil-rich South American nation. He had previously been charged with participating in a conspiracy to send cocaine into the United States. Both Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been held in New York since early January, when U.S. forces seized them from their Caracas home in a middle-of-the-night raid.

Both have pleaded not guilty in the criminal case first brought years ago against them and numerous alleged co-conspirators. They had already faced potential life prison sentences if convicted on the earlier charges.

Flores, 69, was scheduled to be in court Thursday, where her lawyers planned to urge a judge to release her from jail and place her under house arrest because of her heart problems. Her attorneys have also asked for the case to be dismissed on the grounds that the couple has immunity as the leader and first lady of a foreign country.

Lawyers for Flores argued that she has medical issues that cannot be treated effectively in jail, and that she could instead be allowed to live under 24-hour guard at a residence in New York. They said she suffered permanent scarring when she was «thrown against a wall or dresser» during the U.S. military action that led to her capture.

Her legal team said she has lost 25 pounds while imprisoned at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and has been told she might need heart surgery. They described «lingering lightheadedness, dizziness and shortness of breath» and said she might have suffered a minor heart attack in July.

Prosecutors opposed the bail request. In a court filing, they wrote that Flores would pose an «extreme risk of flight and danger to the public» if released. They also said she has been taken from the jail to get treatment at a local hospital when care was needed.

President Donald Trump's administration has defended the raid to capture Maduro as a «surgical law enforcement operation.» Maduro has called himself a prisoner of war and his capture a kidnapping.

Flores is charged with participating in a cocaine importation conspiracy with her husband, who served as Venezuela's president from 2013 until his capture by American forces in January. Her lawyers said she was no threat to flee because she is «intent on supporting her husband with her constant presence.»

The new torture charges add another layer to a case that has already drawn international attention, mixing drug trafficking allegations with human rights claims against a former head of state now held in the United States. The outcome of Flores's bail request and the broader prosecution will shape how the U.S. handles one of the most prominent foreign leaders ever brought before its courts.

8Views

Author

Delaney Sawyer

Society Reporter

Delaney Sawyer covers public affairs, politics, business, culture and daily news for Core Memo. The role focuses on verification, context, and clear explanations for readers.

All articles by this author