Politics
Venezuela’s detained President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have pleaded not guilty to new charges in the United States alleging a conspiracy to commit torture. According to Turkish broadcaster TRT World,
Venezuela’s detained President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have pleaded not guilty to new charges in the United States alleging a conspiracy to commit torture. According to Turkish broadcaster TRT World, Maduro and his wife appeared before a federal court in New York on Thursday. Maduro described the new charges as a reworking of what he called previously baseless allegations. Both have also filed a motion seeking the dismissal of the case.
US prosecutors allege that Maduro and his wife were involved in a conspiracy to torture US citizens and other individuals held in detention in Venezuela. The couple also face drug- and weapons-related charges. Their lawyers argue that Maduro and Flores are entitled to legal immunity because of their status as the president and first lady of a sovereign country. The court has scheduled December 17 to hear the defence’s arguments concerning the dismissal of the case.
At the joint request of the prosecution and the defence, the court has also postponed the trial by two weeks, rescheduling it for June 14 next year to allow additional time for filing preliminary legal motions. Maduro and his wife were transferred to New York after US forces arrested them at their residence in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, in January. They are currently being held in a jail in Brooklyn. Following Maduro’s arrest, leadership of Venezuela passed to his former vice president, Rodríguez, who has since increased cooperation with Washington.
