By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK, Oct 8 (Reuters) – Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores both were hit with an additional US criminal charge on Thursday stemming from accusations they tortured political opponents to retain their grip on power in the South American country.
Maduro and Flores were charged with an additional count of conspiracy to commit torture in addition to the drug trafficking charges they previously faced, according to a superseding indictment filed in Manhattan federal court.
In one instance, prosecutors said Maduro in 2013 ordered the arrest of a Venezuelan military officer he suspected of planning a coup.
Members of Venezuela’s military counterintelligence directorate then interrogated the officer while shocking the individual with a live electric wire around 20 times and hung the individual by the hands and feet for several minutes at a time, prosecutors said.
In 2022, an American citizen detained while entering Venezuela was accused of conspiring to assassinate Maduro and was tortured by military counterintelligence officers through beatings and shocks to the person’s arms, legs and genitals, according to the indictment.
Lawyers for Maduro and Flores did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Flores, 69, and Maduro, 63, were captured by the US military on January 3 in their Caracas home and brought to New York to face the drug charges.
The surprise raid ended the socialist Maduro’s 13 years in power in oil-rich Venezuela, which has since boosted cooperation with the US under the leadership of Maduro’s former Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.
Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to the drug charges and have been held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center since their capture. Their trial is scheduled for June 1, 2027.
FLORES SEEKS RELEASE FROM JAIL
Separately, Flores is expected to appear in a US court on Thursday to urge a federal judge to release her from jail for health reasons while she awaits her drug trafficking trial next year.
At a hearing in Manhattan federal court, Flores’ lawyers are expected to ask US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to grant bail so their client can undergo a cardiac procedure and recover in a more comfortable environment.
The lawyers proposed moving her to a residence in the New York City area with round-the-clock private security, and said she is not a danger to the community. The lawyers also said Venezuela’s government, which the US authorized to pay Flores’ and Maduro’s legal fees, would cover the costs.
Prosecutors in the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office oppose Flores’ release.
They said Flores has received adequate medical care at the detention center, and if released poses an “extreme” risk of flight and danger to the public, including possible witness intimidation.
Prosecutors also said other judges have found it unfair to let some criminal defendants pay for their own out-of-jail supervision, because defendants of lesser means cannot afford it.
Hellerstein’s bail decision will not affect Flores’ trial or potential punishment. If convicted, she faces a mandatory minimum 40-year sentence.
Flores was Venezuela’s attorney general and led its National Assembly before becoming first lady. US prosecutors say she took hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from a large drug trafficker.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Will Dunham)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.