Shackled Maduro calls new torture allegations ‘false’ in latest hearing

Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro insisted in court Thursday that newly unsealed torture allegations against him and his wife were “false accusations.”

Maduro and Cilia Flores, both shackled at the ankles, were brought to court in New York to face a rewritten indictment that expands on an initial set of drug trafficking charges to accuse them of leading a state-sponsored repression campaign that tortured scores of victims, including three Americans.

Maduro twice defied a judge’s request that he enter a plea. He replied through a courtroom interpreter that the indictment was based on “false accusations and false testimony.”

Irked, U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein took matters into his own hands, interjecting that “a plea of not guilty will be entered on behalf of Mr. Maduro.”

Flores was less combative. She told the judge through the Spanish interpreter that she had read through a version of the new indictment.

“I am completely innocent,” she said. “I am not guilty.”

The U.S. military seized Maduro and Flores from their home in Caracas in a nighttime raid in January.

Their trial will begin June 14, two weeks later than had previously been set, according to a schedule the judge approved Thursday.

As…

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