NEW YORK (TNND) — Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called the torture allegations against him “false accusations” during a New York court hearing on a revised drug-trafficking indictment against him and his wife, Cilia Flores.
The indictment, added to charges brought against the couple months earlier, accuses them of leading a state-sponsored campaign of repression that tortured scores of victims, including Americans.
Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein entered a not-guilty plea on Maduro’s behalf after he twice criticized the indictment, saying it contained “false accusations and false testimony.” Maduro spoke through an interpreter.
The revised indictment alleges that Maduro authorized torture, arbitrary detention and violence to suppress political opposition during his rule. Prosecutors said the alleged abuse included electric shocks, beatings, asphyxiation and other mistreatment.
It also accuses Flores, a former Venezuelan legislator and attorney general, of helping develop the alleged system of repression and ordering torture in some instances. The indictment describes alleged abuse involving three unnamed U.S. citizens. When asked to enter a plea, Flores said through an interpreter: “I am completely innocent. I am not guilty.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that more than a dozen Americans had been tortured while in Venezuelan government custody. “As alleged in the indictment, the Maduro regime subjected over a dozen American citizens to torture while held in...
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