NEW YORK — Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty on Thursday to new charges of conspiracy to commit torture.
The pair, who have been held in US custody since their capture in January during a US military raid, appeared at a New York court after prosecutors alleged they conspired to commit acts including waterboarding, rapes and beatings against victims, including American citizens, in Venezuelan detention.
Maduro, who has previously called himself a “prisoner of war,” slammed the latest charges as “false accusations” during a 35-minute hearing.
The US government initially accused Maduro of narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and weapons-related offenses, before adding new charges against him and Flores last week.
The couple has pleaded not guilty to the allegations and argued to have the case thrown out on the grounds that they qualify for sovereign immunity. Their trial is scheduled for June 2027.
In a new indictment last week, government prosecutors alleged Maduro and Flores “created and maintained a violent system of repression” that saw “thousands of Venezuelans” killed, harassed, and tortured.
Maduro denied the new charges brought against him by the US government, telling a court on Thursday he denied the “false accusations and false testimony against me.”
Asked by the judge how he pleaded to the indictment against him, the 63-year-old responded, “I reject this document in its entirety.”
Judge Alvin Hellerstein interrupted Maduro, and declared the court would enter a plea of not guilty.
“I am completely innocent. I am not guilty,” Flores said through a translator.
Prosecutors have already accused Maduro, his wife and son, and their accomplices of engaging in a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy and partnering with cartels designated as terrorist groups.
Maduro previously called such charges a tool to further “imperial” plans for getting access to Venezuela’s rich oil reserves.
He and his wife’s lawyers have argued that Maduro is the leader of a sovereign country and therefore immune from prosecution. They contend the US taking him by force is illegal.
Flores unsuccessfully petitioned a judge to allow her to be released on bond while she awaited trial, arguing she had heart problems and other health issues while detained at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Source: Saudi Gazette