# Maduro and wife indicted for torturing US citizens

> Venezuela's ousted president and his wife face new charges of conspiracy to torture, including American detainees held in New York since January.
- Title: Maduro and wife indicted for torturing US citizens | Shortify
- Summary: Venezuela's ousted president and his wife face new charges of conspiracy to torture, including American detainees held in New York since January. Nicolás…
- Keywords: nicolás maduro, cilia flores, venezuela, torture allegations, us citizens, manhattan federal court, indictment, donald trump, venezuela oil reserves, news, world, Maduro
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/08/cilia-flores-nicolas-maduro-new-york-court
- Published: 2026-10-08T18:04:16+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: nicolás maduro, cilia flores, venezuela, torture allegations, us citizens, manhattan federal court, indictment, donald trump, venezuela oil reserves, news, world
## Maduro and wife indicted for torture
Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores have been indicted for alleged conspiracy to commit torture of US citizens, according to Manhattan federal court papers unsealed on Thursday.
## Detained in New York since January
Maduro and Flores have been jailed in New York City since early January after being captured by US special forces during a predawn assault on Caracas.
## System of repression and violence
Prosecutors allege Maduro and Flores presided over a system that relied on violence against political opposition, arbitrary detention, and torture of detainees including United States citizens.

> presided over a system of repression that relied on violence against political opposition, arbitrary detention, and the torture of detainees, including United States citizens
## Flores ordered torture to protect family
The indictment alleges Cilia Flores helped develop the system of repression and ordered that individuals be tortured to protect her family members' illegal activities.
## Specific torture of US citizen detailed
One US citizen detained in Venezuela was subjected to deprivation of food and water, simulated drowning, repeated beatings, electric shock to his testicles, and forced injections.

> deprivation of food and water, simulated drowning, repeated beatings, electric shock to his testicles, and forced injections
## Coercion of judiciary through family torture
When a Venezuelan official resisted Maduro's pressure on the judiciary, intelligence agents arrested and tortured family members, including forcing them to drink latrine water and placing them in a cell called the Freezer.

> forced to drink latrine water; [was] assaulted with tear gas in Victim-1's cell; [was] threatened that Victim-1 would be killed at gunpoint; and placed in a cold room known as the 'Freezer'
## Flores's bail request denied by judge
Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied Flores's request for pre-trial release on house arrest with private security, rejecting claims about her health issues and noting her appearance had not deteriorated since her January arraignment.
## Trump defends raid, pursues oil deal
Donald Trump called the raid a surgical law enforcement operation and has worked to gain access to Venezuela's oil reserves, announcing in August a new agreement claiming US majority control over sixty five billion barrels.

> surgical law enforcement operation
## Oil deal faces legal and logistical hurdles
A Guardian investigation found Trump's proclaimed biggest oil deal in world history is likely to fail due to legal and logistical problems, despite Venezuela boasting the world's largest proven oil reserves at approximately three hundred three billion barrels.
## Key takeaway

Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores have been indicted for conspiracy to commit torture of US citizens in Manhattan federal court, with prosecutors alleging they ran a system of repression to maintain power.