Key facts
- Maduro and Flores face charges of conspiracy to commit torture.
- Allegations include waterboarding, rape, beatings, and electric shocks.
- Victims included American citizens.
- Maduro allegedly oversaw a system of repression and torture.
- Flores allegedly helped develop the system.
- The couple were captured in a US military raid in January.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to new torture charges brought against them in a New York court. The couple, who were captured by US forces in January, face allegations of conspiring to commit acts including waterboarding, rape, and beatings against victims, some of whom were American citizens. Maduro, 63, rejected the indictment as "false accusations" and "false testimony," while Flores, 70, declared her "complete innocence."
Prosecutors claim Maduro "presided over" a system of repression and torture, and that Flores helped develop it. Specific allegations include electric shocks, beatings, and deprivation of food and water. The couple previously faced drug trafficking and firearms charges after their seizure from their Caracas home.