US Set To Charge Former Venezuela President, Wife Over Alleged Torture

The United States is expected to bring new criminal charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, over the alleged torture of Americans detained in Venezuela, according to reports.

The charges could be announced as soon as Thursday, a U.S. official briefed on the investigation told Reuters on Wednesday.

The case centres on allegations involving Americans who were detained in Venezuelan prisons during Maduro’s 13-year rule. U.S. officials have said more than a dozen American citizens were wrongfully detained during his government.

CNN, which first reported the development, said prosecutors in New York are expected to bring the charges against Maduro and Flores, citing multiple people familiar with the investigation.

Details of the proposed charges and the identities of the alleged victims were not immediately disclosed.

Several former detainees have previously accused Venezuelan authorities of mistreatment while in custody.

Among them were former U.S. Marine Matthew Heath and Osman Khan, who alleged in a civil lawsuit that they were subjected to waterboarding, electric shocks, threats of sexual assault, drugs and solitary confinement.

Former American oil executives known as the CITGO 6 also alleged mistreatment during their detention in Venezuela.

Maduro and Flores are currently being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn after being captured by U.S. forces in Caracas in January.

The couple have pleaded not guilty to existing U.S. charges, including drug trafficking-related offences, and are scheduled to face trial in June 2027.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan declined to comment on the expected new charges, while lawyers for Maduro and Flores did not immediately respond to requests for comment.