U.S. indictment charges Maduro with overseeing machine of repression, torture of Americans

NEW YORK — U.S. prosecutors unveiled sweeping new criminal charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Thursday, accusing him and his wife of heading a state-sponsored system of repression responsible for beating, asphyxiating, and delivering electric shocks to scores of victims, including several Americans.

The torture charges add to pressure on the ousted authoritarian leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were seized from their Caracas home by the U.S. military in January to face drug trafficking charges in New York.

The updated indictment “alleges conduct that is truly unthinkable,” U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said outside the Manhattan courthouse where the case is being handled. “This is the epitome of corruption.”

Maduro denies the charges and “looks forward to his day in court,” lawyer Barry Pollack said. Flores’ attorney said he hadn’t yet had time to review the new allegations.

The indictment claims Maduro suggested torture methods, sought and received updates on specific victims’ treatment, watched a video of a forced confession and personally threatened the killing of one prisoner’s child “as a form of psychological torture.” On occasion, he would laugh after hearing about the abuse of prisoners, prosecutors allege.

Flores, a former attorney general, helped develop the…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business