Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores plead not guilty to new torture conspiracy charges in New York
16 October 2026
Venezuela's former leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores appeared in a federal court in New York to plead not guilty to new charges of conspiracy to commit torture.
The United States had first charged Maduro with narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and weapons-related offences before bringing the new charges against him and Flores the previous week.
The couple were captured in January during a United States military raid and taken to New York, where they remain in jail.
Maduro told the court through a translator that he rejected the document entirely and denied the testimony against him; Judge Alvin Hellerstein entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.
Flores said through a translator that she was completely innocent.
Both have argued that the case should be thrown out on the grounds that they qualify for sovereign immunity, and their trial is scheduled for June 2027.
In plain words
Sovereign immunity Immunity of a State and its officials from foreign jurisdiction — A doctrine under which a State or its serving officials may not be sued in another country's courts.