Venezuela's ex-leader Nicolás Maduro charged with conspiracy to commit torture

ByVanessa Buschschlüter Latin America online editor. 8 October 2026, 16: 07 BST.

Key points

• Prosecutors in the United States have accused Venezuela's former leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, of conspiracy to commit torture.
• The trial for both Maduro and Flores is due to commence in June 2027.
• "All of this was done to ensure that Maduro and Flores retained their power, " prosecutors remarked outside the courthouse on Thursday.
• Another former inmate, Ángel Godoy, informed BBC Mundo that he was kept isolated for months and not allowed to contact his wife.
• After his ouster, his vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, was sworn in as interim leader with the backing of the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, the fresh charges against the couple were created public on Thursday and are along with the drug-trafficking and weapons charges already brought against them. It they have denied.

Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, have been in custody since January in a detention centre in Brooklyn, where they were taken after US forces seized them in a pre-dawn raid on their compound in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

Barry J Pollack, Maduro's attorney, remarked his client denies the new charges and looks forward to his day in court.

Federal prosecutors additionally unveiled on Thursday that Flores was continued to the earlier narco-terrorism charge.

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

Both are being held in a detention centre in Brooklyn and are projected to remain there after Flores's request to be moved to house arrest was denied by a judge on Thursday.

Notably, the new accusations relate to the alleged torture of US citizens who were being held in Venezuela while Maduro was in power.

In practice, the superseding indictment unsealed on Thursday accuses the former presidential couple of "entrenching themselves in power" by presiding "over a system of repression that relied on violence against political opposition, arbitrary detention, and the torture of detainees, including United States citizens".

According to the indictment, the torture included "electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged isolation, starvation, punishment cells, and psychological torture".

In practice, the prosecutors allege that the psychological torture included threats to kill victims' families, including children.

"This conduct, we allege, has caused significant harm to Americans, to US citizens", prosecutors remarked, calling it "the epitome of corruption".

Notably, the prosecution accuses Flores of having was central in the development of the repressive system, ordering that individuals be tortured and even receiving updates on the torture of specific prisoners.

For context, the court document alleges that she did so so as to protect members of her family who were involved in illegal activities.

In practice, the allegations contained in the superseding indictment echo plenty of of the accusations long produced by prisoners who have been published from detention in Venezuela.

Javier Tarazona, the head of a human rights group in Venezuela, informed BBC Mundo's Norberto Paredes earlier this year how he and his brother were held in a tiny punishment cell for 46 days after being arbitrarily arrested.

Another former inmate, Ángel Godoy, informed BBC Mundo that he was kept isolated for months and not allowed to contact his wife. This person was in turn kept in the dark concerning his whereabouts.

For context, the allegations listed in the superseding indictment created public on Thursday relate to cases during Maduro's time in power.

While hundreds of political prisoners have been published under an amnesty law since she has taken over power, more than 300 still remain behind bars, according to prisoners' rights group Foro Penal.

For context, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has cautioned that his office has received reports alleging that detainees continue to be tortured even after the seizure of Maduro.

Türk remarked in March that "structural and systemic human rights concerns" had persisted in Venezuela despite Maduro's ousting.

Venezuela's foreign minister at the time accused Türk of parroting the agenda of "extremists" by citing the allegations.

In short, venezuela' s ex-leader Nicolás Maduro charged with conspiracy to commit torture is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.