Maduro and Wife Plead Not Guilty to Torture Conspiracy Charges in Brooklyn Court

Nicolás Maduro, the deposed Venezuelan socialist leader, and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal conspiracy-to-commit-torture charges in a Brooklyn courtroom.

The pair have been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since January, after U.S. forces captured them in a law enforcement operation in Caracas. They also face separate drug trafficking charges, with that trial scheduled to begin in June 2027.

The new charges, filed last week, accuse Maduro and Flores of building and directing a state-run system of repression that tortured numerous victims, including several American citizens. Prosecutors allege the scheme subjected dissidents and political opponents to electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged isolation, starvation, punishment cells, and psychological abuse, including threats against victims’ families. The alleged conduct is said to date back to 2013, the year Maduro took power.

During Thursday’s hearing, Maduro did not answer directly when U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein asked him to enter a plea.

“I have seen that it is the sum of concepts, allegations that were already presented previously, of false accusations and false testimony against me,” Maduro said, according to Politico.

Judge Hellerstein interrupted and asked again, “How do you plead, guilty or not guilty?” Maduro continued, saying, “I reject this document in its entirety of false accusations and false testimony.” The judge then cut him off and entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Flores, speaking through a translator, gave a direct answer: “I am completely innocent. I am not guilty.”

Fox News reported that Maduro waved to the courtroom gallery and shook hands with his lead attorney, Barry Pollack. He appeared thinner than at previous hearings, reviewed papers in front of him and took notes throughout the proceeding.

Maduro has led Venezuela’s socialist government since March 2013, when he succeeded Hugo Chávez following Chávez’s death from cancer. Chávez had named Maduro his chosen successor on December 8, 2012, a date the regime later designated a holiday commemorating what turned out to be Chávez’s final public appearance. Flores holds the title “First Combatant,” a designation the regime created to place her above the traditional role of first lady.