New torture charges: Maduro and wife plead not guilty in New York
Venezuela's ousted president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have rejected new torture charges before a US court. Their trial is set to begin in June.
Archive image · Photo: Пресс-служба Президента Российской Федерации / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have pleaded not guilty before a court in New York. According to PBS NewsHour, Thursday's hearing concerned new torture charges. Prosecutors accuse Maduro of overseeing a violent campaign against opponents, including three Americans. The allegations were added to an existing drug-trafficking indictment. Both are presumed innocent.
According to the report, the couple's trial is set for next June. US forces seized Maduro and Flores at their home in Caracas in January and brought them to the United States. Maduro told the court the indictment contained "false accusations and false testimony".