Key facts
- New charges will be filed Thursday in the U.S. criminal case against Nicolas Maduro.
- Cilia Flores is expected to appear in a U.S. court Thursday to urge her release from jail for health reasons.
- Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to drug charges in January.
- Maduro and Flores were captured by the U.S. military on January 3 and brought to New York.
- Prosecutors allege Maduro and Flores abused their positions to allow drug traffickers to ship cocaine.
- Flores faces a mandatory minimum 40-year sentence if convicted.
New charges are set to be filed on Thursday in the U.S. criminal case against Nicolas Maduro, the ousted Venezuelan president, according to the Manhattan US Attorney's Office. Details of the new charges were not immediately available, but a U.S. official told Reuters that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were expected to face new charges related to the alleged torture of Americans held in Venezuela.
Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, were captured by the U.S. military on January 3 in their Caracas home and brought to New York. They face an indictment accusing them of abusing their positions of power to allow drug traffickers to ship cocaine. Both have pleaded not guilty to these charges and have been held at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since their capture. Their trial is scheduled for June 1, 2027.
Separately, Flores is expected to appear in a U.S. court on Thursday to urge a federal judge to release her from jail for health reasons while she awaits her drug trafficking trial. At a hearing set to start at 10:30 a.m. EDT in Manhattan federal court, Flores' lawyers are expected to ask U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to grant bail. They propose she be moved to a residence in the New York City area with round-the-clock private security, citing a need for a cardiac procedure and recovery in a more comfortable environment. Venezuela's government, authorized by the U.S. to pay their legal fees, would cover the costs.
Prosecutors in the Manhattan US Attorney's Office oppose Flores' release, stating she has received adequate medical care at the detention center. They argue that if released, she poses an "extreme" risk of flight and danger to the public, including potential witness intimidation. They also noted that other judges have found it unfair to allow some defendants to pay for their own out-of-jail supervision when defendants of lesser means cannot afford it. Flores' bail decision will not affect her trial or potential punishment; if convicted, she faces a mandatory minimum 40-year sentence. Prosecutors allege she took hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from a large drug trafficker.