New York prosecutors have accused former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores of conspiracy to commit torture. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

According to CNN, the case concerns Americans and Venezuelans held in custody during his rule.

New charges

The new charges were filed on October 8. According to prosecutors, after coming to power in 2013, Maduro authorized the torture of certain prisoners and oversaw a system in which unlawful detentions and violence were used to suppress political opponents.

Maduro's lawyer, Barry Pollack, said his client rejects the charges.

"President Maduro denies the charges in the new indictment and looks forward to the opportunity to appear in court," he said.

Episodes in the indictment

The indictment describes beatings, electric shock torture, strangulation and sexual violence. According to U.S. authorities, more than ten U.S. citizens were unlawfully held in Venezuelan prisons under Maduro.

One episode concerns an American detained in January 2022 on suspicion of involvement in a plot to kill Maduro. Prosecutors allege he was beaten, tortured with electricity and forcibly injected with a substance that caused convulsions. He was later released.

Another American, according to case materials, was detained at home in January 2025 while security forces were looking for another person. Prosecutors allege he was beaten for two days in an isolation cell. As a result, he suffered irreversible damage to his eye.

Investigators are also discussing possible charges against other alleged participants in the torture, CNN sources said.

Flores's request for house arrest

At the October 8 hearing, Flores's defense asked that she be transferred to house arrest before trial. The lawyer cited, among other things, the deterioration of her health and the need for treatment.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied the request. He considered the flight risk serious due to Flores's financial resources and her ties to Venezuelan authorities. In his assessment, if she returns to Venezuela, the country is unlikely to extradite her to the United States.

The judge called the health arguments premature: Flores refused some diagnostic procedures. The date of a separate hearing on the new charges will be set later.

What happened earlier

Earlier, Kursiv wrote that on January 3, 2026, in Caracas, U.S. special services detained Maduro and his wife. He was charged with narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking. Maduro did not admit guilt and considers himself the legitimate leader of the country. On the same day, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez took the oath as the new head of state, and the United States officially recognized her.

Since then, Maduro and Flores have been held in custody in New York without the right to bail.

Maduro's defense disputes the legality of his detention and insists on immunity, since the alleged crimes date to his presidency. According to prosecutors, Venezuelan authorities have not joined this demand.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump officially announced the conclusion of an agreement under which the United States gains control over the majority of Venezuela's oil reserves, amounting to more than 65 billion barrels.