U.S. prosecutors filed a superseding indictment against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Manhattan federal court on 8 October 2026. It adds charges of conspiring to torture political opponents and American citizens to existing drug-trafficking charges. Their trial is scheduled to begin on 1 June 2027.
Federal charges and court proceedings
Maduro and Flores were captured in Caracas on 3 January 2026 during a U.S. military operation and taken to New York to face drug charges. They have pleaded not guilty to the original charges but had not entered pleas to the new indictment as of 8 October 2026. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied Flores’ request for release on bail, which her lawyers had sought on health grounds. She and Maduro are held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
The indictment adds allegations of torture to the existing criminal case. If convicted of all charges, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 50 years in prison. A mandatory minimum is a statutory minimum prison term that applies upon conviction for specified offences.
Allegations in the indictment
Prosecutors allege that at least nine people, including three U.S. citizens, were tortured. The alleged methods include electric shocks, asphyxiation, beatings, forced injections and psychological torture. The indictment alleges that Maduro directed or received regular briefings on detainee abuse, while Flores helped develop the repressive system and ordered torture in some cases. These claims are allegations in a criminal case and have not been established as findings at trial.
The indictment also describes alleged state threats, arrests, torture and killings in Venezuela between 1999 and 2025. One allegation concerns the 2013 arrest and interrogation of a military officer suspected of plotting a coup. Another concerns a U.S. citizen detained in Venezuela in 2022 and accused of conspiring to assassinate Maduro.
Venezuela and the proceedings
Maduro became president in 2013 after serving in the government of Hugo Chávez. Flores served as Venezuela’s attorney general and led its National Assembly before becoming first lady. The October 2026 indictment was the first criminal charge against Maduro over torture allegations. His lawyer said Maduro denies the new charges.
Important Facts for Exams
- A superseding indictment replaces or amends an earlier indictment in a U.S. criminal case.
- The Manhattan federal court is part of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
- The Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn is a federal detention facility in New York City.
- The trial of Maduro and Flores is scheduled for 1 June 2027.
The new charges concern alleged torture of political opponents and U.S. citizens. The defendants’ criminal liability will be determined through the U.S. court proceedings.
