Venezuela's Maduro due in NYC court over conspiracy to commit torture charges

Nicolás Maduro, the former president of Venezuela, and his wife Cilia Flores appeared in a New York federal court on October 15 to face rewritten charges accusing them of leading a state-sponsored campaign that tortured scores of victims, including three Americans. Judge Alvin Hellerstein entered not-guilty pleas on their behalf after Maduro repeatedly denied the new accusations as "false" and was cut off by the judge. The couple was captured in a nighttime raid at their home in Caracas in January 2026. Prosecutors allege that Maduro oversaw a violent torture system, which included beating, asphyxiation, and electric shocks to victims. This case is rare, with only a few instances of foreign officials being prosecuted for such crimes in the US court system.