Rewritten indictment accuses ex-Venezuela president and wife Cilia Flores of leading campaign of torture
Nicolás Maduro insisted on Thursday during an appearance in a New York court that torture allegations in a rewritten drug trafficking indictment against the deposed Venezuelan president and his wife were “false accusations”.
Maduro, shackled at the ankles, was brought to court to face the new charges accusing the couple of leading a state-sponsored campaign of repression that tortured scores of victims, including three Americans.
Judge Alvin K Hellerstein entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. They were seized from their Caracas home by the US military in a night-time raid in January.
Hellerstein announced that he was entering the plea on behalf of Maduro after Maduro twice responded to the judge’s request to enter a plea by criticizing the indictment, saying it contained “false accusations and false testimony”. Maduro spoke through an interpreter.
Attorney Barry Pollack said when the charges were announced last week that Maduro, 63, denied them and “looks forward to his day in court”.
According to the rewritten indictment, Maduro oversaw a violent torture system that beat, asphyxiated and delivered electric shocks to its victims. He is accused of personally recommending torture methods, receiving updates on specific victims’ treatment and threatening to kill one prisoner’s child as a form of psychological torture.
Flores, 70, a...
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