Nicolás Maduro Charged With Torture

October 8, 2026 2:28 pm

NEW YORK (AP) — A new U.S. indictment charges former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro with torture and other crimes. The indictment was unsealed Thursday in New York. Maduro was previously charged with participating in a conspiracy to send cocaine into the U.S. He and his wife, Cilia Flores, now also face allegations of human rights abuses during his reign as president of the oil-rich South American nation. On Thursday, Flores’ lawyers unsuccessfully urged a judge to free her from jail and put her under house arrest because of heart problems. Maduro and Flores have been behind bars in New York since early January when U.S. forces seized them from their Caracas home. Both have pleaded not guilty in the drug case.