A new criminal front is taking shape in the United States against Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. According to CNN, prosecutors in New York are expected to bring new charges related to the torture of American citizens held in Venezuelan prisons, a case that once again draws attention to longstanding allegations that the regime in Caracas used detainees for political purposes.
What is expected to be announced in New York
According to sources cited by CNN, the announcement of the new charges could come on Thursday. The investigation focuses on the detention of more than a dozen American citizens during the years of Maduro’s rule, whom US authorities have considered wrongfully detained.
According to the same report, prosecutors are also examining possible charges against other individuals suspected of having played a role in the torture of the American detainees. So far, there has been no official announcement from US authorities regarding these new charges.
Maduro and Flores face proceedings in the US
Maduro and Flores were captured in January during a US military operation at the presidential palace in Caracas. Both have pleaded not guilty to the existing charges, including narcoterrorism conspiracy and other criminal offenses.
They are currently being held in New York without the possibility of bail. Flores is expected to appear in court on Thursday, where her defense will seek house arrest before the trial begins. Meanwhile, Maduro’s lawyer is challenging the legality of the arrest and argues that the former president should enjoy immunity for actions carried out while he was in office.
Testimony from former American detainees
More than a dozen Americans were arrested by Maduro’s government, which has been accused by US authorities and human rights organizations of using prisoners as a political instrument.
Matthew Heath and Osman Khan, who were released in a prisoner swap in October 2022, have alleged in a lawsuit that they were subjected to electric shocks, threats of sexual assault, the use of substances that affected their mental state, and isolation.
Claims of harsh conditions have also been made by members of the group known as the “CITGO 6,” six American oil industry executives arrested in Venezuela in 2017 and held for nearly five years.
What the UN report says about Venezuelan prisons
The detainees were held at the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence, DGCIM, a body cited in a United Nations report for arbitrary detentions, mistreatment, and torture of political opponents and their family members.
The UN report documents practices such as electric shocks, asphyxiation, waterboarding, beatings, sexual violence, deprivation of food and water, forced positions, and exposure to extreme temperatures. According to the report, these methods were used to obtain information or confessions, as well as to intimidate and punish detainees.
At this stage, the new charges remain pending an official announcement by US authorities.
But the substance of the investigation and the testimony made public so far push the case beyond the political confrontation between Washington and Caracas, toward a serious file on the treatment of detainees and the criminal responsibility of the chain of command.