Maduro denies torture allegations as U.S. court enters not-guilty pleas

Nicolás Maduro told a federal court in New York that torture allegations in a rewritten indictment against him and his wife Cilia Flores were false accusations. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein entered not-guilty pleas on behalf of both defendants.

The superseding indictment, a rewritten version of earlier charges, was unsealed on Oct. 8 by federal prosecutors in Manhattan. It charges Maduro and Flores with conspiring to commit torture, alongside narcoterrorism and cocaine offenses, according to prosecutors U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

The rewritten indictment accuses the couple of leading a state-sponsored campaign of repression that tortured scores of victims, including three Americans The Guardian. Prosecutors allege the system involved beatings, asphyxiation and electric shocks.

The indictment further alleges that Maduro personally recommended torture methods, received updates on how specific victims were treated, and threatened to kill one prisoner's child. It alleges that Flores, a former attorney general, helped develop the repressive system and ordered the torture of specific people.

Maduro and Flores are not accused of personally carrying out any acts of torture Reuters. Flores told the court through an interpreter: "I am completely innocent. I am not guilty."

The couple had earlier pleaded not guilty to U.S. drug charges alleging they conspired to flood the United States with cocaine. The torture allegations were added in the rewritten drug trafficking indictment.

Maduro served as Venezuela's president from 2013 until his capture in January. He and Flores were seized from their Caracas home by the U.S. military in a night-time raid in January. Maduro has also been under investigation by the International Criminal Court over alleged crimes against humanity tied to his crackdown on opponents.

Maduro and Flores are scheduled to go on trial starting on June 1, 2027. Prosecutors said lawyers on both sides want the date moved to June 14.