The Justice Department on Thursday announced new charges against former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

“Venezuelan President NICOLÁS MADURO MOROS and former First Lady of Venezuela CILIA ADELA FLORES DE MADURO have been charged in a Superseding Indictment unsealed today with conspiring to commit torture, narcoterrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons offenses,” the Justice Department stated.

“As alleged in today’s Superseding Indictment, for more than two decades, Nicolás Maduro Moros and Cilia Adela Flores De Maduro engaged in a conspiracy to commit torture, including the torture of United States citizens, in addition to the narcotics trafficking and weapons offenses already charged,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald.

“As described in the Superseding Indictment, the Maduros and other Venezuelan leaders abused their positions of trust to enrich themselves through narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking, and other corruption, including by employing Venezuelan military, law enforcement, and other government entities under their control to flood the United States with illegal narcotics. Today’s indictment further alleges that the Maduros and other Venezuelan leaders conspired to repress dissent through grave violations of human rights by ordering and allowing violence, threats, and physical torture under color of law. As alleged, this included the torture of multiple United States citizens, who were subjected to unspeakable abuse. Today’s charges exemplify the tirelessness that we and our law enforcement partners will undertake to vindicate victims of crime, particularly American victims subjected to horrific treatment abroad,” McDonald continued.

“This case is the result of incredible cooperation among law enforcement agencies, and it shows that we and our law enforcement partners will make exceptional efforts to investigate and prosecute human rights abuses, narco-terrorism, and narcotics trafficking around the world,” McDonald said at a press conference.

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Mr. Maduro and Ms. Flores, who were captured in an extraordinary raid in January, were already facing sweeping narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges in Manhattan. Both are scheduled to go on trial in June 2027, in a case that has raised a panoply of legal issues surrounding the capture and Mr. Maduro’s level of involvement in the cocaine trade.

But the new allegations levied by federal prosecutors struck a different chord. They accuse the couple of violently repressing their own citizens to smother dissent and undermine Venezuela’s democracy. The torture, according to prosecutors, included electric shock, rape, prolonged isolation and starvation.

The alleged conduct laid out in the indictment is “truly unthinkable,” Jamie McDonald, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said outside the courthouse after the hearing.

Barry Pollack, a lawyer for Mr. Maduro, said in a statement that “President Maduro denies the charges in the new indictment and looks forward to his day in court.”

In the courtroom on Thursday, a prosecutor told the judge presiding over the case, Alvin K. Hellerstein, that there were cooperating witnesses who could attest to the torture. The couple will be arraigned on the new charges at a later date.

The 30-page indictment says that from at least 1999 through 2025, the couple and high-level Venezuelan officials inflicted severe physical and mental pain to punish members of the political opposition, silence dissent and protect their authority.

“Since the capture and arrest of Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, the Department of Justice has been working to uncover the extent of their alleged crimes against the people of Venezuela and of the United States,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“These additional charges against the Maduros reflect the dedication of this Administration to delivering justice for the victims of torture, narcoterrorism, and organized crime,” he added.

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“Maduro’s regime is responsible for countless American victims of narcoterrorism and drug trafficking,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

“Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, our Homeland Security Task Force partners, and strong coordination among DHS, DOJ, FBI, and DEA, we’re bringing Maduro and his wife to justice. President Trump is using all tools at his disposal to make America safe again both at home and abroad,” he continued.

On Thursday, a federal judge denied a request to release Cilia Flores to house arrest.

NewsNation explained further:

Flores’ attorneys had asked the judge to let her recuperate outside the prison’s general population. They proposed GPS and video surveillance, guards, and a requirement that the court approve any visitors.

The defense said Flores has lost 25 pounds and two teeth since her incarceration and struggles with chest pains and other heart problems. Prison medical staff have recommended a catheterization, which could lead to the diagnosis of more invasive procedures. Flores has so far refused it.

In denying the motion, the judge said the allegations against Flores are very serious, including narcoterrorism, corruption and torture, and that the evidence supporting the new charges is strong.

He said that without the catheterization and without knowing how severe her health problems are, granting bail would be “premature.”

The judge also said no combination of conditions could reasonably assure that Flores would appear in court, citing the money involved and the seriousness of her contacts in Venezuela.

 

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