US prosecutors add a conspiracy to commit torture count against Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores
8 October 2026
US prosecutors unveiled a superseding indictment against ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, 63, and his wife Cilia Flores, 69.
It adds a count of conspiracy to commit torture to the drug trafficking charges they already faced.
The case is before a Manhattan federal court in New York, where US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein presides.
Both had pleaded not guilty to the earlier drug trafficking charges, and their trial is scheduled for 1 June 2027.
The couple were captured by the US military on 3 January in their Caracas home and brought to New York, and have been held at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since.
On the same day, Judge Hellerstein denied Flores' request for release for medical treatment, agreeing with prosecutors that she is an extreme flight risk.
US Attorney Jamie McDonald described the conduct set out in the indictment as truly unthinkable.
In plain words
Superseding indictment A replacement indictment — A fresh indictment that replaces an earlier one, often to add or change counts before trial.
Flight risk Risk that an accused person will abscond — A court's assessment that a person released from custody may not return for trial.