Maduro and Flores Plead Not Guilty to New US Torture Charges
publishers 117articles 162first reported 7 Oct, 20:05 UTCdeveloping since 8 Oct · 15 editions
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Manhattan federal court to new charges accusing them of conspiring to torture political opponents and others detained in Venezuela.
Maduro rejected the indictment as “false accusations” and said he rejected the document in its entirety. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf after interrupting his remarks. Flores told the court through an interpreter: “I am completely innocent. I am not guilty.”
The indictment alleges that Maduro directed a state-sponsored campaign of repression during his presidency and that Flores helped develop it. Prosecutors accuse the couple of ordering or supporting abuses including electric shocks, beatings, asphyxiation and simulated drowning. The alleged victims included political and military opponents and U.S. citizens. Neither defendant is accused of personally carrying out the torture.
In one alleged 2014 episode, Maduro ordered officials to kidnap military personnel for information about possible dissidents and urged them to intensify pressure when detainees resisted, according to the indictment. Prosecutors say Flores supported that plan.
The additional charges expand an existing U.S. case in which Maduro and Flores have pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking and firearms-related allegations. They were captured at their Caracas home in a U.S. military raid on Jan. 3 and remain jailed in Brooklyn. Their trial is now scheduled to begin June 14, 2027, after the judge delayed it by two weeks because of the new charges.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 5 with the publisher's own text; 7 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 214 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
- Publishers
- 117
- Source articles
- 162
- Given to the writer
- 8, 5 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 7
- This version written
- 214 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and published it as written.
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