Federal prosecutors in New York have filed sweeping new criminal charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores accusing them of orchestrating a state-sponsored torture program that targeted political opponents and American citizens.
The updated indictment unsealed Thursday alleges that Maduro personally suggested torture methods including beatings electric shocks and asphyxiation and received regular updates on how specific prisoners were being treated. Prosecutors say he watched a video of a forced confession and laughed after hearing reports of prisoner abuse.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald called the allegations “truly unthinkable” and described the case as “the epitome of corruption.” Maduro’s attorney Barry Pollack said his client denies the charges and welcomes his day in court.
Flores a former Venezuelan attorney general is accused of helping design the repressive system and ordering the torture of specific individuals. A federal judge denied her request Thursday to be released to seek medical treatment ruling she poses an extreme flight risk.
Three American citizens are described among the torture victims in the indictment. One matching the description of Osman Khan was subjected to electric shocks and forced to eat his own vomit during eight months of detention after entering Venezuela in 2022. Another American was beaten severely enough to require a lengthy hospital stay while a third suffered a permanent eye injury after being hooded and beaten repeatedly over two days.
Khan and former U.S. Marine Matthew Heath were released in October 2022 as part of a prisoner exchange. The two later won a $300 million default judgment against Maduro in U.S. courts under a federal anti-terrorism law. Heath responded to Thursday’s charges saying seeing a dictator prosecuted in court would do more to protect Americans than any United Nations statement.
The torture charges come on top of existing drug trafficking charges filed after Maduro and Flores were seized from their Caracas residence by U.S. military forces in January. Both pleaded not guilty to those charges which accused them of conspiring to flood the United States with cocaine.
A key cooperating witness in the case is General Hugo Carvajal who served as Venezuela’s spy chief for over a decade under both Hugo Chavez and Maduro. Carvajal pleaded guilty to drug charges last year after being extradited from Spain and has since been cooperating with federal prosecutors building the case against his former boss.
Maduro led Venezuela from 2013 until his capture earlier this year and has long faced scrutiny from the International Criminal Court over alleged crimes against humanity.