US prosecutors have unsealed a superseding indictment that adds a torture conspiracy to the federal criminal case against former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores.
The indictment, returned in the Southern District of New York, alleges that the pair joined other Venezuelan officials in directing or facilitating torture over more than two decades. Prosecutors say the conduct included abuse of political opponents and US citizens held in Venezuela, alongside the narcotics and weapons charges already pending in the case.
The new counts remain accusations. The government must prove them beyond a reasonable doubt, and the defendants are entitled to contest the evidence and the court’s jurisdiction. Statements released with the filing describe the alleged methods in graphic terms, but they do not substitute for proof at trial.
The superseding document expands the theory of the prosecution without resolving the earlier allegations of narcoterrorism, cocaine trafficking and firearms offences. It also places alleged acts by Venezuelan security institutions more directly inside the case. No final ruling has been made on any count.
Read the superseding indictment
