Venezuela's Maduro and wife plead not guilty to US torture charges
NEW YORK, United States -
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Maduro → plead → charges
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty on Oct 15 to a new US indictment accusing them of conspiring to torture political opponents.
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Maduro → oust → opponents
The additional charges, brought on Oct 15, significantly expanded the US criminal case against Maduro, 63, and Flores, 70.
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charges → bring → Maduro
They previously pleaded not guilty to charges that they abused their power to help drug traffickers ship cocaine.
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traffickers → plead → cocaine
Maduro and Flores, captured by the US military in a January raid ordered by US President Donald Trump and flown to New York, entered their pleas at an arraignment before District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan federal court.
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Maduro → capture → court
They wore tan prison garb and were shackled at the ankles during the hearing.
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They → wear → hearing
When Hellerstein asked for his plea, Maduro said the accusations had been made previously and were false.
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accusations → ask → plea
“I have seen it in its entirety, Judge Hellerstein,” Maduro said, referring to the indictment.
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Maduro → see → indictment
“I reject this document in its entirety.”
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I → reject → entirety
The judge cut Maduro off as he spoke and said a plea of not guilty would be entered on his behalf.
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plea → cut → behalf
Flores said, “I am completely innocent.
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I → say → ?
Maduro and Flores are not accused of personally carrying out any acts of torture.
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Maduro → accuse → torture
They would each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 50 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
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They → face → charges
Hellerstein postponed the trial start date by two weeks to June 14, 2027, due to the new charges.
‘Squeeze them harder’
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Hellerstein → postpone → them
Prosecutors with the Manhattan US Attorney’s office say Maduro directed Venezuelan officials to torture opposition politicians and military personnel accused of plotting against him to maintain power in the South American country.
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Maduro → say → country
In one alleged incident described in the indictment, Maduro in 2014 directed officials to kidnap military personnel to draw information out of them about possible dissidents, and told officials to “squeeze them harder” when some remained defiant.
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some → allege → them
Flores agreed with the plan in the meeting, and dismissed a suggested alternative plan to glean information by infiltrating the ranks, according to the indictment.
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Flores → agree → indictment
Relations between Maduro, a socialist, and the United States were tense during his 13 years in power leading the oil-rich country.
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Relations → lead → country
Successive US administrations imposed sanctions on top Venezuelan officials and key state companies, citing alleged human rights violations, corruption and election-rigging.
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administrations → impose → violations
Maduro accused the United States of seeking his ouster to gain greater control of the South American country’s natural resources.
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Maduro → accuse → resources
Captured at home
The pressure campaign culminated in the January 3 raid, when the US military captured Maduro and Flores at their Caracas home and brought them to the United States to face drug trafficking charges announced that same day.
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military → capture → charges
Since then, they have been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
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they → hold → Brooklyn
Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, has led Venezuela since his capture and has ramped up cooperation with the United States.
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president → lead → States
Trump has touted Maduro’s capture and the reset of relations with Venezuela as a key foreign policy success heading into the November 3 midterm elections in which his fellow Republicans are fighting to retain control of Congress.
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Republicans → tout → Congress
The Aporia
