US prosecutors are expected to bring new charges against ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores over the alleged torture of Americans held in Venezuelan government custody, CNN reported Wednesday.
Maduro and Flores both already face drug trafficking and firearms charges in the United States after they were snatched from their Caracas compound in an extraordinary US military raid in January.
According to CNN, citing people familiar with the investigation, the new torture charges relate to the alleged wrongful detention of over a dozen US citizens in Venezuela during Maduro’s rule.
The report said prosecutors are also considering charging several other people for their alleged role in torturing Americans.
CNN said charges could be announced as soon as Thursday. Prosecutors declined to immediately comment when contacted by AFP.
Maduro and Flores are slated for a trial in New York next June and are currently being held in a Brooklyn jail.
US prosecutors claim that Maduro used state power to protect and promote illegal drug smuggling, and that he allied himself with cartels to ship tons of cocaine into the United States.
Maduro has denied the four counts he faces: “narco-terrorism” conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices as well as conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
Flores has similarly pleaded not guilty to the three counts she faces: cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
She is due in court tomorrow for a hearing on her request to be moved from custody to house arrest due to apparent heart problems.
AFP
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