Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro appeared in a New York court on Thursday, 15 October 2026, where he insisted that new torture allegations in a rewritten drug trafficking indictment against him and his wife, Cilia Flores, were “false accusations”.
Maduro, who was shackled at the ankles, faced charges accusing the couple of leading a state-sponsored campaign of repression that allegedly tortured numerous victims, including three Americans. Judge Alvin K Hellerstein entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of Maduro and Flores after Maduro criticised the indictment, stating it contained “false accusations and false testimony”.
The rewritten indictment alleges that Maduro oversaw a violent torture system, recommending methods and receiving updates on victims' treatment. Flores, a former attorney general, is accused of helping develop the system and ordering specific acts of torture. She stated, “I am completely innocent. I am not guilty,” through an interpreter when asked to enter a plea.
Maduro and Flores were seized from their Caracas home by the US military in January. They had previously pleaded not guilty in a US drug case alleging they conspired to flood the US with cocaine. Lawyers for both sides have requested the trial date be moved from 1 June to 14 June.