NEW YORK: Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores both were hit with an additional US criminal charge on Thursday stemming from accusations they tortured political opponents to retain their grip on power in the South American country. Maduro and Flores were charged with an additional count of conspiracy to commit torture in addition to the drug trafficking charges they previously faced, according to a superseding indictment filed in Manhattan federal court.
In one instance, prosecutors said Maduro in 2013 ordered the arrest of a Venezuelan military officer he suspected of planning a coup. Lawyers for Maduro and Flores did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Flores, 69, and Maduro, 63, were captured by the US military on January 3 in their Caracas home and brought to New York to face the drug charges. They pleaded not guilty to the drug charges and have been held at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since their capture. Their trial is scheduled for June 1, 2027. — Reuters
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