Federal prosecutors are expected to bring additional charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, the BBC’s US media partner CBS has reported.
The new charges accuse them of playing a role in the torture of Americans who were held in Venezuelan prisons, according to CBS.
US forces seized Maduro and Flores from their compound in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, in a dramatic, night-time raid on 3 January, and brought them to New York to face charges for alleged weapon and drug offences, which they deny.
Additional people may be charged for their role in torturing more than a dozen Americans who were wrongfully detained by the Venezuelan government under Maduro, CBS reports.
Maduro’s attorney, Barry Pollack, told CBS that he was not provided notice about any additional charges.
Flores, who is facing drug trafficking and weapons charges, is scheduled to appear in federal court for a bond hearing on Thursday in New York.
The trial for both Maduro and Flores is set to begin in June 2027.
The US has accused Maduro of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy, and possession of and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
He and 14 others were first indicted in 2020, during President Trump’s first term.
Prosecutors have alleged that Maduro, his wife and son, and their accomplices engaged in a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy and partnered with cartels designated as terrorist groups.
They said the accused “abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States”.
Maduro has previously called such charges a tool to further “imperial” plans for getting access to Venezuela’s rich oil reserves.
He and his wife’s lawyers have asked the court to dismiss the charges because he is the leader of a sovereign country and therefore immune from prosecution. They contend the US taking him by force is illegal. The judge has not ruled on their requests.
By BBC News
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