By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are due in US court on Thursday to respond to a new indictment accusing them of conspiring to torture political opponents.
The additional charges, brought last Thursday, significantly expanded the US criminal case against Maduro, 63, and Flores, 70. They previously pleaded not guilty to charges that they abused their power to help drug traffickers ship cocaine. Their lawyers have said they deny the torture charges as well.
Maduro and Flores, captured by the US military in a January raid ordered by President Donald Trump and flown to New York, are expected to be asked for their pleas on the torture charges at an arraignment starting at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) before US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan federal court.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan US Attorney’s office say Maduro directed officials to torture opposition politicians and military personnel accused of plotting against him to maintain power in the South American country.
In one alleged incident described in the indictment, Maduro in 2014 directed officials to kidnap military personnel to draw information out of them about possible dissidents, and told officials to “squeeze them harder” when some remained defiant.
Flores agreed with the plan in the meeting, and dismissed a suggested alternative plan to glean information by infiltrating the ranks, according to the indictment.
Maduro and Flores are not accused of personally carrying out any acts of torture. Scheduled to go on trial starting on June 1, 2027, they would each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 50 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Relations between Maduro, a socialist, and the United States were tense during his 13 years in power leading the oil-rich country.
Successive US administrations imposed sanctions on top Venezuelan officials and key state companies, citing alleged human rights violations, corruption and election-rigging. Maduro accused the United States of seeking his ouster to gain greater control of the South American country’s natural resources.
The pressure campaign culminated with the January 3 raid, when the US military captured Maduro and Flores at their Caracas home and brought them to the United States to face drug trafficking charges announced that same day. Since then, they have been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, has led Venezuela since his capture and has ramped up cooperation with the United States. Trump has touted Maduro’s capture and the reset of relations with Venezuela as a key foreign policy success heading into the November 3 midterm elections in which his fellow Republicans are fighting to retain control of Congress.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Will Dunham)
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