Ousted Venezuela's Maduro, wife likely to face fresh US charges over 'torture' of Americans

The US could bring new criminal charges against ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores as early as Thursday over allegations that Americans detained in Venezuela were tortured, a US official familiar with the investigation said on Wednesday.Maduro and Flores were captured by the US military from their home in Caracas on January 3 and brought to New York, where they are facing existing drug-trafficking charges. Both have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to stand trial from June 1, 2027.Details of the potential new charges, including the identities of the alleged victims, were not immediately available.Washington has previously accused Maduro’s government of detaining Americans as leverage to seek concessions, including relief from US financial sanctions. Among those classified by the US as wrongfully detained were five oil executives arrested on graft charges who were released in 2022 as part of a prisoner swap.Two former US Army Special Forces members detained in Venezuela in 2020 following a failed operation aimed at ousting Maduro were also released in a 2023 prisoner exchange.Maduro, Flores held in Brooklyn as trial approachesMaduro, 63, and Flores, 69, are currently being held at a federal jail in Brooklyn. Since Maduro’s capture, Venezuela has been led by his former vice president Delcy Rodriguez, whose government has increased cooperation with the Trump administration.Flores is due to appear in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, where she is expected to seek release from custody before trial on health grounds. Prosecutors are opposing her request.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.