Prosecutors in the United States have announced new charges against Venezuela's former president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, accusing them of conspiracy to commit torture.
These charges are added to the drug‑trafficking and weapons allegations that have already been filed, which both Maduro and Flores deny.
The former leader, 63, and his wife, 69, have been held in a Brooklyn detention centre since a pre‑dawn raid by U.S. forces on their Caracas compound in January of this year.
The accusations claim that the couple orchestrated the torture of U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela during Maduro's tenure.
Human rights groups in Venezuela and former prisoners have long cited systematic torture in Venezuelan jails.
The trial for Maduro and Flores is scheduled to begin in June 2027.
