Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro expected to face more charges this week

Federal prosecutors are projected to bring further charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, the BBC's US media partner CBS has documented.

Key points

• He and 14 others were first indicted in 2020, during President Trump's first term.
• The trial for both Maduro and Flores is due to commence in June 2027.
• Extra residents may be charged for their role in torturing more than a dozen Americans who were wrongfully detained by the Venezuelan administration under Maduro, CBS reports.
• Flores, who is facing drug trafficking and weapons charges, is scheduled to appear in federal court for a bond hearing on Thursday in New York.
• The new charges accuse them of playing a role in the torture of Americans who were held in Venezuelan prisons, according to CBS.

Notably, the new charges accuse them of playing a role in the torture of Americans who were held in Venezuelan prisons, according to CBS.

US forces seized Maduro and Flores from their compound in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, in a dramatic, night-time raid on 3 January, and brought them to New York to face charges for alleged weapon and drug offences. It they deny.

In practice, the BBC has contacted Maduro's lawyer for comment as well as the US Attorney's office in Manhattan which brought the charges.

Maduro's attorney, Barry Pollack, informed CBS that he was not provided notice concerning any extra charges.

In practice, the trial for both Maduro and Flores is due to commence in June 2027.

For context, the US has accused Maduro of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy, and possession of and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

Prosecutors have alleged that Maduro, his wife and son, and their accomplices engaged in a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy and partnered with cartels designated as terrorist groups.

They remarked the accused "abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States".

Maduro has previously called such charges a tool to further "imperial" intends for getting access to Venezuela's rich oil reserves.

He and his wife's lawyers have asked the court to dismiss the charges since he is the leader of a sovereign country and therefore immune from prosecution. They contend the US taking him by force is illegal. The judge has not ruled on their requests.

Taken together, the developments around former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro expected to face more charges this week point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.