US charges Maduros with torture in new indictment

US prosecutors have charged ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores with conspiring to torture political opponents and US citizens, adding to the drug trafficking case the couple already faced.

Separately, US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case, denied a request by Flores to be released from jail due to health concerns ahead of a trial scheduled for next year.

Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, were captured on January 3 in their Caracas home during a US military operation ordered by President Donald Trump, and were flown to New York to face drug charges against them that were announced that same day.

A superseding indictment filed in Manhattan federal court on Thursday added the torture count to the existing criminal case.

Maduro and Flores each would face a mandatory minimum 50 years in prison if convicted of all the charges.

They have pleaded not guilty to the original charges but have not yet entered pleas to the new indictment, which detailed alleged torture against nine people including three US citizens.

In a statement, Maduro's lawyer Barry Pollack said, "President Maduro denies the charges in the new indictment and looks forward to his day in court."

Flores' lawyers Mark Donnelly and Andres Sanchez in a statement said their client denies the allegations.

They questioned why prosecutors only revealed the indictment, which court records showed was returned under seal by a grand jury on Tuesday, shortly before Thursday's hearing.

"We look forward to fully responding to the allegations in court at the appropriate time," Donnelly and Sanchez said.

Since Maduro's capture, Venezuela has boosted co-operation with the US under the leadership of his former vice-president Delcy Rodriguez.

Relations between the United States and oil-rich Venezuela were tense during the socialist Maduro's 13 years in power.

US officials and human rights groups have long accused Venezuelan officials of torturing detainees but Thursday's indictment marked the first time Maduro faced criminal charges over the allegations.

The indictment alleged that thousands of Venezuelans were threatened, arrested, tortured or killed at the hands of the state between 1999 and 2025.