NEW YORK: 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. 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.

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 set to start at 10:30am 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.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2026