Venezuela Nicolas Maduro's Wife to Face New US Charges: 'Detained Americans Were Tortured' — What We Know So Far

Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores may face new criminal charges in the United States over allegations that Americans detained in Venezuela were tortured, a U.S. official said Wednesday. The official told Reuters that new charges could come as early as Thursday.

What do we know about the new charges against Maduro, woman?

CNN was the first to report on the possibility of new fees on Wednesday. Details of the new allegations, including the identities of the alleged torture victims, were not immediately available.

The US has reportedly accused Maduro’s government of detaining Americans as leverage to win concessions such as relief from financial sanctions.

Among the Americans classified by the US as wrongfully detained during Maduro’s tenure were five oil executives arrested on bribery charges. They were released in 2022 in exchange for two of Flores’ nephews who were convicted of drug trafficking in the US.

Other detainees included two former members of US military special forces who were arrested in Venezuela in 2020 in connection with a botched raid aimed at ousting Maduro. They were released in 2023 as part of another prisoner swap, Reuters reported.

A spokeswoman for the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, which filed the charges, declined to comment. Lawyers for Maduro and Flores did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Maduro’s capture

Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, were captured by the US military from their home in Caracas on January 3 and flown to New York to face drug-trafficking charges. They were being held at a federal prison in Brooklyn.

They have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to go on trial starting June 1, 2027.

Flores is scheduled to appear in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday to urge U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to release her from prison on medical grounds before the trial. Prosecutors oppose her release.

Since Maduro’s capture, Venezuela has been led by his former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, who has strengthened cooperation with the Trump administration.