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Maduro pleads not guilty to additional charges in New York
BBC • • nation
Key Points:
- Former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty to new US charges of conspiracy to commit torture during a court appearance in New York.
- The couple was arrested in January during a US military raid and remain jailed while awaiting trial, which is scheduled for June 2027.
- US prosecutors allege Maduro and Flores maintained a violent repression system responsible for torturing and killing thousands of Venezuelans, including US citizens.
- Maduro and Flores deny the charges, claiming sovereign immunity as Venezuela's leaders and arguing the US action to detain them was illegal.
- Previous accusations against Maduro include narco-terrorism, drug trafficking, and weapons offenses, which he has dismissed as attempts to seize Venezuela's oil resources.
