US prosecutors have added a torture conspiracy charge to their case against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. A new indictment unsealed on October 8 alleges the torture of detainees, including American citizens.

The United States has widened its case against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. A superseding indictment unsealed on Thursday, October 8, charges him and his wife, Cilia Flores, with conspiring to commit torture, the Justice Department announced.

The new count is added to the narcoterrorism, cocaine importation and weapons charges the couple already faced.

What Is Alleged

Prosecutors allege that Venezuela’s leaders presided over a system of repression that relied on violence against the political opposition, arbitrary detention and the torture of detainees, including United States citizens.

According to the Justice Department, the alleged torture included electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged isolation, starvation and threats to harm and kill victims’ families.

The department cited the case of one American citizen who, it says, was detained in Venezuela and subjected to deprivation of food and water, simulated drowning, repeated beatings and electric shocks.

The Charges and Penalties

The indictment charges Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, with:

  • Narcoterrorism conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years and a maximum of life in prison
  • Conspiracy to commit torture, which carries a maximum of 20 years
  • Conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, which carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life
  • Weapons offences involving machine guns and destructive devices

What Officials Said

“These additional charges against the Maduros reflect the dedication of this Administration to delivering justice for the victims of torture, narcoterrorism, and organized crime,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Jamie McDonald, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the indictment alleges that the conspiracy lasted “for more than two decades”.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the charges follow the operation in January in which Maduro was arrested and he and his wife were brought to the United States.

The Legal Position

The charges are allegations. As the Justice Department’s own announcement states, an indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Image: Nicolás Maduro in 2019. Photo by the Presidential Press Service of Russia via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.