Key facts
- Maduro and Flores due in US court Thursday for arraignment on torture conspiracy charges.
- New indictment adds charges of conspiring to torture political opponents to existing drug trafficking charges.
- Maduro allegedly directed officials to torture dissidents to maintain power.
- Maduro and Flores face a potential 50-year minimum sentence if convicted.
- They were captured in a January raid and have been held in Brooklyn.
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are due in US court on Thursday to respond to a new indictment accusing them of conspiring to torture political opponents. The additional charges, brought last Thursday, significantly expand the US criminal case against Maduro and Flores, who previously pleaded not guilty to charges of abusing their power to help drug traffickers ship cocaine. Prosecutors allege Maduro directed officials to torture opposition politicians and military personnel to maintain power in Venezuela. In one alleged incident, Maduro directed officials to kidnap military personnel in 2014 to extract information about dissidents and told officials to "squeeze them harder" when some remained defiant. Flores agreed with the plan. Maduro and Flores are not accused of personally carrying out any acts of torture. They would each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 50 years in prison if convicted on all charges. The couple was captured by the US military in a January raid and brought to the United States to face drug trafficking charges, and have been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.