Americas — 2026-10-09

US Charges Venezuela Maduro and Wife With Conspiracy to Commit Torture

BLUFJudge Hellerstein is very unlikely to dismiss the case on immunity grounds by March 2027, leaving Maduro and Flores on track for a June trial that will expose the regime's torture apparatus through insider testimony.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan unsealed a superseding indictment on Thursday adding a conspiracy-to-commit-torture count against Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores, who have been held in Brooklyn since the January 3 US capture in Caracas 12. The indictment alleges Maduro authorized torture and received reports on specific victims, and that Flores helped build the system and ordered individuals tortured, including Americans, with methods such as electric shocks, asphyxiation and rape 123. Attorney Barry Pollack said Maduro denies the charges; the pair have pleaded not guilty to the earlier drug and weapons counts and seek dismissal on immunity grounds 23. Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied Flores' bail request the same day, citing flight risk, and trial is set for June 1, 2027 12.

Analysis
Judge Hellerstein is very unlikely to grant the motion to dismiss on head-of-state immunity grounds by March 31, 2027. Confidence is high: he denied Flores' release the same day, and Caracas has not asserted immunity for Maduro. Prosecutors tie the torture count to named victims, including Americans, which supports treating the acts as private criminal conduct rather than official functions. Former DGCIM chief Hugo Carvajal's cooperation supplies insider testimony on the chain of command. Sourcing converges strongly, though it rests on a single court record. The count may instead serve mainly as leverage in plea talks and the bail fight rather than as an immunity test. If the motion is denied, the defense must prepare for the June 2027 trial while prosecutors build on Carvajal's testimony. A grant would end the case and force Washington to rethink its leverage over Delcy Rodríguez's government.

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