New York. Oct 15, (dpa/GNA) – Venezuela’s longtime leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, both captured by the US military, have pleaded not guilty to torture charges brought by US prosecutors, US media outlets reported on Thursday.
Maduro and Flores entered their “not guilty” pleas before Judge Alvin Hellerstein. Maduro said the charges were “false accusations.” “I am completely innocent. I am not guilty,” Flores said.
Maduro led the country at the head of an authoritarian socialist government from 2013 to 2026.
In January, he and Flores were captured by US special forces in a controversial operation in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. They have since been held at a prison in Brooklyn, New York.
Critics have condemned the operation as a violation of international law. The US initially charged Maduro and Flores with drug-related terrorism, among other offences. They have denied those allegations.
About a week ago, prosecutors added a charge of conspiracy to commit torture. It relates to the alleged unlawful detention and torture of more than a dozen US citizens in Venezuelan prisons during Maduro’s rule.
The trial of the couple is scheduled to begin on June 1, 2027.
In Venezuela, former vice president Delcy Rodríguez took over leadership of the country as acting president, after Maduro’s arrest. Caracas and Washington subsequently expanded their cooperation, particularly in the oil sector.
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, but its economy has been devastated by years of mismanagement, corruption and sanctions.
GNA