Nicolás Maduro and his wife face new U.S. charges of conspiracy to torture Americans as prosecutors reject their immunity claims and fight a medical release bid.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan expanded the criminal case against deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores de Maduro, with fresh counts tied to the alleged torture of American detainees.
The new indictment adds conspiracy to commit torture to an existing slate of cocaine trafficking, narco-terrorism, and weapons charges, and it arrives as the couple presses motions to throw out the case and Flores seeks release from custody over heart-related medical problems.
Fox News reported that additional charges were expected in Manhattan federal court while prosecutors fought defense efforts to dismiss the case and while a hearing was set for 10:30 a.m. on Flores’ request to leave jail.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald was expected to speak after that hearing. The defense has argued sovereign immunity. Prosecutors have answered that Maduro and Flores have no such shield.
In a recent court filing, federal prosecutors rejected the immunity theory in blunt terms. They argued Venezuela has not asserted immunity for either defendant, and they noted the United States has not recognized Maduro as Venezuela’s head of state since January 2019.
Prosecutors wrote that the pair are not protected figures entitled to special treatment in U.S. court.
"The defendants are former rogue officials of a formerly rogue state with no entitlement to immunity,"
the filing stated. Prosecutors added that foreign sovereign immunity is “a matter of grace and comity on the part of the U.S., and not a restriction imposed by the Constitution.”
They also argued the alleged drug crimes were not legitimate state business. Prosecutors say Maduro and other defendants took part in cocaine trafficking that sent thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States and helped fund and support violent terrorist organizations. The government says the “prohibited drug activity had a nexus to and intended effect on the United States.”
That trafficking case sits alongside broader U.S. pressure on cartel networks, including recent military action against drug vessels and stepped-up regional enforcement.
According to Breitbart’s account of the filing, the new torture conspiracy count is the second of five charges. Prosecutors allege Maduro and Flores used military units, colectivos, and criminal groups to detain and torture people in order to crush political opposition and keep power.
The indictment claims Maduro ordered detentions and torture while receiving reports on the abuse. It also alleges Flores helped build the system and “ordered individuals to be tortured to protect the illegal activities of her family members.” Prosecutors say the defendants sought to “repress and punish political opposition, silence dissent and perceived dissent” and preserve their hold on power.
The same network of regime-linked crime has already drawn other U.S. cases, including the prosecution of Maduro associate Alex Saab on money-laundering charges in Miami.
The New York Post reported that court papers describe a system of electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged isolation, starvation, punishment cells, and psychological torture, including threats to harm and kill victims’ families and children.
One American detainee arrested in January 2022 was allegedly starved, beaten, waterboarded, shocked with electricity on his arms, legs, and genitals, and injected with a substance that caused seizures before his release after nearly nine months. Another U.S. citizen abducted in 2023 allegedly had his testicles electrocuted, a gun forced into his mouth, and threats made against him before he returned home in a prisoner swap.
While the torture counts land, Flores’ lawyers are pressing for her release. They say she was recovering from a complete hysterectomy before her arrest and had been receiving monthly injections for mitral valve prolapse. Her motion warns she may now need cardiac catheterization that could lead to more invasive heart procedures.
Her attorney argued jail is blocking proper recovery.
"Her medical condition is significant and her current housing, despite best efforts, is inadequate to allow for proper recovery from cardiac surgery,"
the release motion states. Defense lawyers proposed home confinement with GPS monitoring, round-the-clock armed surveillance, surrender of her travel documents, and a court-approved third-party custodian. They say she poses no danger to the community and deny the allegations.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein was not persuaded at this stage.
"Jail is not a nice place to be, but these are serious allegations... I don’t think the conditions are there to release her at this time"
Hellerstein said, according to court coverage of the hearing.
Maduro’s attorneys have filed their own challenge. They argue the Manhattan court lacks jurisdiction because he is still recognized as Venezuela’s head of state. They also attack the narco-terrorism conspiracy count. His lawyers say he vehemently denies drug trafficking meant to benefit groups engaged in terrorism and claim prosecutors have not proved the elements of that charge.
Prosecutors counter that the alleged crimes were personal and criminal, not official acts of a legitimate government. They say neither defendant is entitled to immunity and that Caracas has not even tried to claim it for them.
The fight lands as Washington keeps tightening the vise on cartel-linked violence across the region, from Colombia’s entry into a U.S. counter-cartel coalition to wider pressure on trafficking routes and regime networks tied to Venezuela’s oil and power structure, including U.S. moves on Venezuelan energy assets.
Americans who were starved, shocked, and threatened in Venezuelan custody are not a diplomatic abstract. They are the reason a U.S. courtroom now gets to test whether power and cruelty still shield the people who ordered it.
