US files new torture charges against Maduro, wife
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The United States on Thursday filed new torture charges against ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, bolstering a mounting criminal case against the pair held in US custody.
Maduro and Flores already face drug trafficking and firearms charges in the United States after they were snatched from their Caracas compound in an extraordinary US military raid in January.
A court filing made public Thursday shows both are now additionally charged with conspiracy to commit torture, stating that they “inflicted severe physical and mental pain and suffering.”
The alleged goal was to “repress and punish political opposition, silence dissent and perceived dissent, preserve and protect the power and authority of the members of the conspiracy, and intimidate, harass, and neutralise their opponents, including through kidnappings.”
Prosecutors detail apparent instances of unidentified victims, including US citizens, being shocked with electric wires, waterboarded and beaten while in Venezuelan detention.
Maduro and Flores are slated for a trial in New York next June and are currently being held in a Brooklyn jail.
AFP
