Maduro and Wife Indicted on Torture Charges Involving U.S. Citizen

Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted on charges of conspiring to commit torture, according to a federal court filing in Manhattan unsealed Thursday. CNN first reported the expected legal action on Wednesday.

The superseding indictment was made public shortly before Flores appeared in court in an effort to seek pretrial release. Maduro and Flores have been held at a New York City jail since early January. They were captured during a U.S. military operation and brought to New York to face "narco-terrorism" charges, a move that drew widespread international outrage.

In the new charging document, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York described how Maduro and his wife allegedly used brutal tactics to suppress opposition and hold onto power. They are accused of presiding over "a system of repression based on violence against political opponents, arbitrary detention and torture of detainees, including United States citizens."

The charging document states: "The torture included electric shocks, suffocation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged solitary confinement, starvation, punishment cells and psychological torture, such as threats to harm and kill victims' family members, including children." Maduro and Flores, according to the new indictment, "sat atop that violent power structure."

Authorities allege Flores was essential to the effort, saying she "helped develop this system of repression and ordered the torture of individuals to protect the illegal activities of family members." Victims of the torture included "United States citizens" viewed as threats to Maduro's power.

"One particular U.S. citizen was detained in Venezuela and subjected to multiple forms, including deprivation of food and water, mock drowning, repeated beatings, electric shocks to the testicles and forced injections." Maduro and Flores have pleaded not guilty in the criminal case first filed six years ago against them and several alleged co-conspirators. They face life in prison if convicted of conspiring to bring cocaine into the United States.

Their lawyers have asked for the case to be dismissed on the grounds that they have immunity as the leaders and first lady of a foreign country. Flores' lawyers, 69, also argued that she has health problems that cannot be effectively treated in jail and that she could instead be allowed to live under 24-hour guard at a residence in New York.

They also said she suffered permanent scarring when she was "thrown into a wall or cabinet" during the U.S. military operation that led to her capture. Her lawyers said she has lost 25 pounds (11 kg) while held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and has been told she may need heart surgery. They said she has also suffered "prolonged dizziness, blurred vision and difficulty breathing" and may have had a mild heart attack in July.

Prosecutors opposed the bail request. In court filings, they wrote that Flores would pose "an extreme risk of flight and danger to the public" if released. They also said she has been taken from jail to a local hospital for treatment when needed.

The administration of Donald Trump has defended the raid that captured Maduro as a "precise law enforcement operation." Maduro has called himself a prisoner of war and described his capture as a kidnapping. Flores is charged with taking part in a conspiracy to import cocaine along with Maduro, who held Venezuela's presidency from 2013 until his capture by U.S. forces in January.

Flores' lawyer said she is not a flight risk because she is "determined to support her husband with her frequent presence."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.