Venezuela’s Maduro Has Been Accused of Torturing Americans. Former Detainees Describe Electric Shocks and Abuse.

Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, face new federal charges accusing them of overseeing a system of torture that subjected political opponents and American detainees to various forms of abuse, according to a superseding indictment unsealed Thursday in Manhattan.

The charges mark the first time Maduro has been criminally accused in the United States of orchestrating torture during his 13-year presidency, expanding a prosecution that previously centered on narcoterrorism, cocaine trafficking and weapons offenses.

Federal prosecutors allege that Maduro personally authorized the torture of suspected opponents, received updates about detainees and approved interrogation methods intended to intimidate critics and preserve his hold on power.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the alleged abuses included electric shocks, asphyxiation, rape, starvation, prolonged isolation and threats against prisoners' families.
"As this indictment alleges, Maduro, Flores and other high-ranking members of their inner circle used a violent system of torture and repression to maintain their power in Venezuela," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said Thursday.

The indictment describes several alleged victims, including Americans detained by Venezuelan military intelligence officers. One U.S. citizen was reportedly punched, subjected to electric shocks and forced to eat his own vomit during eight months of imprisonment.

Another was beaten so severely that he required extended hospitalization and had a gun placed inside his mouth. A third American was allegedly handcuffed, hooded, and beaten every half-hour over two days, suffering permanent damage to an eye, according to the Associated Press.

The indictment also details the alleged torture of a Venezuelan military officer whom Maduro suspected of plotting a coup in 2013. Prosecutors say military counterintelligence agents shocked the officer approximately 20 times with a live electrical wire and suspended him by his hands and feet.

In another case, an American detained in 2022 after entering Venezuela was allegedly beaten and subjected to electric shocks to his arms, legs, and genitals after being accused of plotting Maduro's assassination.

Prosecutors also implicate Flores, Venezuela's former attorney general and National Assembly leader, in developing the repressive system and ordering the torture of specific detainees.

The allegations follow years of testimony from former political prisoners and investigations into Venezuela's security apparatus. Former U.S. Marine Matthew Heath, who spent more than two years imprisoned in Venezuela after his 2020 arrest, welcomed the charges.

Heath previously described being subjected to waterboarding, electrocution, threats of sexual assault, and confinement in a cramped punishment cell known as "El Tigrito." In May, Heath and another former detainee obtained a $300 million default judgment against Maduro and other Venezuelan officials in a U.S. civil lawsuit alleging a pattern of torture.

"It's incredible to see a dictator in court," Heath told the Associated Press on Thursday. The prosecution also comes as former Venezuelan military intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal, who pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in New York, has offered to testify against Maduro. Maduro and Flores were captured by U.S. forces in Caracas on January 3 and have remained in federal custody in Brooklyn.

Both previously pleaded not guilty to the drug-related charges, and their attorneys have challenged the prosecution on immunity grounds. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied Flores' request for release on medical grounds. Their trial is scheduled to begin June 1, 2027.

Meanwhile, Venezuela is governed by Maduro's former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, whose administration has increased cooperation with Washington under President Donald Trump.

The new indictment places allegations long documented by former prisoners and human rights organizations at the center of a U.S. criminal prosecution against Venezuela's former leader. Maduro has denied wrongdoing. The new charges remain allegations, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.