New York-based federal prosecutors are preparing to file additional criminal charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The new legal action stems from allegations of torture involving several American citizens who were detained by the Venezuelan government over the past few years, according to individuals familiar with the ongoing investigation. An official announcement regarding these charges could occur as early as Thursday. The people said, an announcement could come as soon as Thursday. Has reached out to lawyers for Maduro and Flores. This story was updated with additional information.
This investigation focuses on the wrongful imprisonment of more than a dozen US nationals during the period Maduro oversaw a repressive regime in Venezuela. Investigators have also explored the potential for charging other individuals suspected of playing roles in these abuses. While the couple currently remains in US custody without bail following their January capture by military forces in Caracas, they have entered not guilty pleas to existing charges of narcoterrorism conspiracy.
Court proceedings remain active for both, with Flores scheduled for a hearing Thursday where her legal team plans to request a transfer to house arrest. Meanwhile, Maduro’s attorneys are challenging the validity of his initial arrest, asserting that he holds presidential immunity for actions taken while in office. Notably, the current Venezuelan government has refrained from supporting these immunity claims on his behalf, as stated by the prosecution. Flores is expected to appear at a hearing Thursday where her lawyer will ask that she be moved to house arrest ahead of trial.
Former detainees have provided harrowing accounts of their experiences within Venezuela’s prison system. Matthew Heath and Osman Khan, released during an October 2022 prisoner exchange, filed lawsuits alleging they were subjected to waterboarding, electrical shocks, solitary confinement, forced intake of mind-altering substances, and threats of sexual violence. Heath, a Marine veteran, reportedly attempted suicide while held in captivity.
Similar claims have surfaced from the group known as the “CITGO 6,” American oil executives who were lured to the country in 2017 and held for nearly five years. In legal filings, Tomeu Vadell, along with Alirio and Jose Luis Zambrano, described enduring brutal conditions and torture while imprisoned.
These individuals were primarily held at the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM). A United Nations investigation identified the facility as being “responsible for arbitrary detentions, ill-treatment and torture of political opponents and their relatives.” The report detailed a pattern of systemic abuse within the DGCIM, which “routinely resorted” to methods such as suffocation with plastic bags, beatings, food and water deprivation, exposure to extreme temperatures, and stress positions to extract confessions or punish detainees.