Prosecutors in New York are preparing new charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Celia Flores over alleged torture of American citizens held in Venezuelan prisons. CNN reports that the charges could be announced as early as Thursday.
According to US officials, the charges relate to the illegal detention of more than a dozen US citizens during Maduro's time in power in Venezuela. Investigators are also considering charges against others for their alleged involvement in the torture, a source familiar with the matter said.
Maduro and Flores were detained in January in a US military operation at the presidential palace in Caracas. They were then taken to New York, where they are charged in a federal case. The two have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit narcoterrorism and other crimes and are being held without bail.
Flores is expected to appear in court on Thursday. Her lawyer will ask that she be placed under house arrest until the start of her trial, which is scheduled for June 1, 2027.
Americans Describe Torture and Harsh Conditions
Matthew Heath and Osman Khan, freed in a prisoner exchange in October 2022, allege in a lawsuit that they were subjected to waterboarding, electric shocks, threats of sexual assault, the use of psychotropic substances and prolonged isolation. Heath, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, allegedly attempted suicide while in custody.
Similar claims have been made by three of the six U.S. oil executives known as the “CITGO 6,” who were detained in Venezuela in 2017 and spent nearly five years in custody.
All were held at the General Directorate of Venezuela’s military counterintelligence service, known as DGCIM. A U.N. report described the service as responsible for “arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and torture.” of political opponents and their relatives.
The document also mentions electric shocks, suffocation with plastic bags, simulated drowning, beatings, sexual violence, deprivation of food and water, forced body positions and exposure to extreme temperatures. According to the report, these methods were used to obtain information and confessions, intimidate and punish detainees.
The upcoming expansion of the case will take place against the background of the charges already brought against Maduro and Flores. US authorities claim that the detained citizens were used as political hostages, and the defense of the two defendants disputes the charges brought against them.
Sources: pravda.com.ua, edition.cnn.com