Key facts
- Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are expected to face new US criminal charges.
- The charges relate to the alleged torture of Americans held in Venezuelan custody.
- A US official briefed on the investigation stated the charges could be announced as soon as Thursday.
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are expected to face new criminal charges in the US over the alleged torture of Americans held in the South American country, a US official said on Wednesday. The new charges could come as soon as Thursday, according to the official, who was briefed on the investigation.
In a separate development, Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges brought by the US government in New York on January 6, 2026. Prosecutors alleged Maduro, Flores, their son Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra, and accomplices engaged in a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy and partnered with designated terrorist groups. The indictment claims they abused their positions of public trust to import tons of cocaine into the United States. Maduro has previously called such charges a tool to further "imperial" plans for access to Venezuela's oil reserves. His lawyer suggested he should be immune from prosecution as the leader of a sovereign country. Maduro stated he is a "kidnapped president" and a "prisoner of war." Flores' attorney stated they look forward to challenging the government's evidence.