New US indictment charges former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro with torture
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NEW YORK (AP) — Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been charged by United States authorities with torture and other crimes in a new indictment unsealed Thursday that adds pressure on the ousted authoritarian leader already fighting drug trafficking offences.
Maduro, who was previously charged with participating in a conspiracy to send cocaine into the US, is now also facing allegations of human rights abuses during his reign as president of the oil-rich South American nation.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been behind bars in New York since early January, when forces seized them from their Caracas home in a middle-of-the-night raid.
Both have pleaded not guilty in the criminal case first brought years ago against them and numerous alleged co-conspirators.
They had already been facing potential life prison sentences if convicted.
Their attorneys have asked for the case to be dismissed on the grounds that they have immunity as the leader and first lady of a foreign country.
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