Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have pleaded not guilty to new torture charges brought by US prosecutors, as a federal judge in New York postponed the start of their trial until 14 June 2027.
The couple entered their pleas during a court hearing on Thursday, after reviewing the new indictment filed on 8 October. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein also revised the timetable for the proceedings following the addition of the charges, moving the trial from its previously scheduled start date of 1 June 2027.
When Hellerstein asked whether they had seen the new indictment, Maduro and Flores said they had read a Spanish-language version and discussed it with their lawyers on Wednesday. Maduro dismissed the allegations as a collection of previously presented claims. “I have seen that it is a compendium of allegations already presented before: false accusations and false testimony against me,” he said.
Flores also rejected the charges, telling the court: “I have already read it, it is nothing new. I am completely innocent. I am not guilty.”
The indictment accuses the couple of maintaining a violent system of repression to preserve their hold on power in Venezuela. According to the US government, thousands of Venezuelans were harassed, threatened, arrested, persecuted, assaulted, tortured or killed by individuals exercising what prosecutors describe as the authority of the Venezuelan state to keep Maduro and Flores in power.
The filing also identifies at least three US citizens who prosecutors allege were subjected to abuses including simulated drowning, psychological torture, food deprivation and electric shocks.
Maduro and Flores are not accused of personally carrying out the alleged acts of torture. Prosecutors instead allege that they ordered and directly supervised the abuses, using state security personnel as well as civilian and military officials.
“Nicolás Maduro Moros presided over this system of repression and torture, commanded the units and officers, both from law enforcement and the military, responsible for perpetrating torture, ordered the illegal detention and torture of certain individuals, and received reports on the torture of specific prisoners,” the indictment states.
It further alleges that Flores helped develop the system of repression and ordered the torture of individuals to protect the illicit activities of members of her family.
The new charges add to four existing counts against the couple involving narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and weapons possession. Both had previously pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Maduro and Flores have been held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn since their detention during a US armed operation in Caracas on 3 January. Their continued detention has also featured in proceedings over their legal circumstances and requests for alternative arrangements.
News agencies covering Thursday’s hearing reported that Maduro appeared thinner and less inclined to smile than during his previous appearance before Hellerstein on 22 July. Flores, who turned 70 on 15 October, has lost about 11 kilograms and two molars, according to her defence lawyers. Last week, Hellerstein rejected her request for house arrest on health grounds.
The addition of the torture charges prompted the judge to revise the trial schedule. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for 17 December at 11am.
