Transcription 0:09 U.S. 0:09 prosecutors now charge Nicolas Maduro and Celia Flores with conspiring to commit 0:14 torture. 0:14 The accusation reaches political opponents and unnamed Americans, expanding a 0:18 prosecution already built on drug and weapons allegations. 0:21 Flores has also lost her bid for medical house arrest. 0:24 What do the new charge and the custody ruling change, and what remains unresolved 0:27 before trial? 0:28 Flores is accused of helping design the infrastructure of torture and repression, 0:33 not simply of being married to Maduro. 0:35 Her name is Cilia, not Celia. 0:38 Both defendants deny wrongdoing, and neither has been convicted of these alleged 0:42 acts. 0:42 The superseding indictment was unsealed in Manhattan on October 8th, 2026, after a 0:48 federal grand jury voted to bring the new charge. 0:50 It adds conspiracy to commit torture. 0:53 The complete indictment and full written rulings were unavailable for independent 0:56 examination, limiting what can be established about individual allegations and the 1:00 court's reasoning. 1:01 On October 7th, the charges were still expected, possibly the next day. 1:06 On October 8th, the accusation became a filed indictment. 1:09 The possibility of charges against additional people remains only a possibility. 1:13 No further defendant or filing date is established. 1:16 Maduro was absent from court when the early October 8 account appeared and was 1:20 expected to be arraigned on the new charge. 1:22 No exact arraignment date or completed arraignment is established. 1:25 His lawyer's October 7 statement that he had received no notice described that 1:29 earlier moment. 1:30 Not a proven current disclosure problem. 1:33 U.S. 1:33 forces seized Maduro and Flores from their Caracas compound in a nighttime raid on 1:38 January 3 and brought them to New York. 1:40 The available account does not specify the year. 1:42 The new indictment does not resolve disputes surrounding that seizure. 1:45 Maduro allegedly authorized torture against particular individuals and oversaw 1:50 internal security services using arbitrary detention, violence, and torture against 1:54 people who opposed his government. 1:56 The alleged campaign spans roughly a decade, but its precise end points are 2:00 unverified. 2:00 Venezuela's military counterintelligence agency, DGCIM, is cited. 2:05 Its complete operational chain of responsibility is not established. 2:08 The alleged methods include electric shocks, beatings, asphyxiation, drowning type 2:13 abuse, and mock executions. 2:15 The accusations also include rape and starvation. 2:18 But the available material does not establish which victims experienced those acts 2:21 or that every victim experienced every listed method. 2:24 The allegations extend to prisoners' families, including children. 2:28 One says Maduro personally threatened to kill a prisoner's child as psychological 2:32 torture. 2:33 That accusation concerns using the prospect of harm to someone outside custody to 2:37 intimidate a prisoner. 2:38 It remains an allegation, not a finding that the threat occurred. 2:41 Victims identified as 7 and 8 remain unnamed. 2:44 Americans were allegedly detained on claims they plotted to assassinate Maduro. 2:48 Taken to a concrete house and tortured, including with electric shocks, that does 2:52 not establish an assassination plot existed. 2:55 Victim 7 was allegedly tortured in January 2022 and released months later. 2:59 The exact release date is unknown. 3:01 At least two Americans is a minimum, not an exact total. 3:04 A later account describes three unnamed U.S. 3:06 citizens. 3:07 The earlier expectation concerned more than a dozen wrongfully detained Americans, 3:11 but that is not an established American victim count for the unsealed indictment. 3:15 The minimum of two does not necessarily contradict three, but the numbered victims 3:19 and the complete American victim count have not been independently reconciled. 3:23 The earlier figure could concern a broader investigation. 3:27 That explanation is unproven. 3:28 These figures must not be added together or treated as a confirmed increase or 3:32 decrease in victims. 3:34 Barry Pollack represents Maduro. 3:36 The defense seeks dismissal, arguing that Maduro and Flores are protected as a 3:40 foreign leader and first lady. 3:42 Del C Rodriguez figures in the recognition dispute, but no ruling granting or 3:47 rejecting immunity or dismissal is established. 3:50 The suggested legal obstacle to immunity is that the United States recognizes 3:54 Rodriguez rather than Maduro. 3:56 The exact recognition statement and its legal implications have not been 4:00 independently established. 4:01 Venezuelan authorities are also described as seeking immunity for Rodriguez, but not 4:05 Maduro. 4:06 That contrast does not itself establish U. 4:09 S. 4:09 recognition or settle either defendant's protection. 4:12 Prosecutors oppose immunity, while the defendants have pleaded not guilty in the 4:16 existing drug case. 4:17 Those pleas must not be treated as verified pleas to the new torture charge. 4:21 The earlier allegations include narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation 4:26 conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to 4:30 possess those weapons. 4:31 None is an established conviction here. 4:33 Alex Saab pleaded guilty on September 15th, 2026, to a money laundering scheme 4:37 involving bribery and public contracts for food and medicine. 4:41 He has been described as Maduro's business partner and financial front person, 4:44 making his potential cooperation consequential, but not proof of this accusation. 4:48 The described cooperation arrangement includes a prosecution recommendation for a 4:52 reduced sentence if Saab's assistance in cases against other Venezuelan officials 4:57 proves valuable. 4:58 Its full terms have not been independently examined. 5:01 A recommendation is not an awarded reduction, and no established connection shows 5:05 Saab supplied the basis for the torture charge or identifies testimony he would give 5:09 about it. 5:10 Flores, 69, is held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. 5:15 Her lawyers sought a New York residence under 24-hour guard for medical care, with 5:19 proposed GPS monitoring and security restrictions. 5:22 They were seeking supervised house arrest, not unrestricted release. 5:26 The defense's medical claims include a loss of 25 pounds, about 11 kilograms, in 5:31 detention, chest pain, arrhythmias, and other heart problems. 5:35 They include a possible minor heart attack in July and the possibility of heart 5:39 surgery. 5:40 Medical records were unavailable for independent confirmation. 5:43 These claims do not establish that a heart attack occurred. 5:46 The requested care includes a recommended cardiac catheterization that could lead to 5:50 more invasive procedures. 5:52 Multiple prescribed medications are also described, including medication for a 5:56 potential heart attack. 5:57 Neither a completed catheterization nor a definite need for surgery is established. 6:01 Prosecutors opposed release, arguing that Flores presented an extreme flight risk 6:06 and a danger to the public. 6:08 They also maintained that she had been taken to a hospital for treatment when 6:12 needed. 6:12 Those positions are distinct from a judicial determination of what medical care she 6:16 requires. 6:17 Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied bail and pretrial house arrest on October 8th. 6:22 Earlier accounts without a ruling are overtaken by that denial. 6:25 Flight risk and the seriousness of the charges are described as reasons, but his 6:29 exact words and complete reasoning are unavailable. 6:31 No specific medical treatment directive accompanying the denial is established. 6:35 Refusing home confinement does not answer whether every requested examination or 6:39 procedure will be provided in detention. 6:40 The medical concerns remain separate from the unproven criminal allegations. 6:44 The immediate answer is an expanded prosecution and continued detention rather than 6:48 the requested home confinement, not a conviction, an immunity ruling, or a settled 6:52 treatment plan. 6:53 What remains unresolved is the evidence supporting the torture charge, the new 6:56 arraignment, the dismissal arguments, and the full custody decision. 6:59 A written custody decision is expected October 13th, 2026, but no independently 7:05 examined scheduling order guarantees publication. 7:07 The existing case's trial was scheduled for June 1st, 2027, in a July 22, 2026 7:13 decision before the new indictment. 7:16 No separate trial schedule for the torture accusation is established, and it remains 7:20 unknown whether that accusation will be covered by the existing schedule or whether 7:25 the June 1st date will change.
Qui a rapporté quoi Points rapportés par plusieurs médias New torture conspiracy charge against Maduro and Flores 5 médias Number of American torture victims alleged 5 médias Alleged methods used to torture victims 4 médias Defense request to dismiss charges based on immunity 4 médias Flores’s request for house arrest 3 médias Existing U.S. charges against Maduro 3 médias Not-guilty pleas in the separate drug case 3 médias Expected charges over alleged torture of detained Americans 2 médias Alleged use of security services to repress opponents 2 médias Judge’s ruling on Flores’s release request 2 médias Scheduled date of Flores’s bond hearing 2 médias Expectation of additional charges against Maduro 2 médias Maduro’s lawyer says he received no notice of new charges 2 médias Pleas entered on the new indictment 2 médias Points rapportés par un seul média10 Rapporté uniquement par CNN Number of Americans allegedly tortured in CNN report 7 oct., 20:05 UTC Rapporté uniquement par BBC News Seizure and transfer of Maduro and Flores to New York 7 oct., 22:50 UTC Rapporté uniquement par ABC News A superseding indictment accusing Nicolás Maduro of additional crimes was unsealed at Manhattan fed… 8 oct., 15:50 UTC Flores’s alleged role in designing torture infrastructure 8 oct., 15:50 UTC Numbering of alleged American victims in the indictment 8 oct., 15:50 UTC Alleged violence used to silence political opposition 9 oct., 10:27 UTC Maduro’s court appearance and arraignment status 8 oct., 15:50 UTC Rapporté uniquement par FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation A grand jury alleges that Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan officials committed torture. 8 oct., 22:02 UTC Alleged narcoterrorism for profit 8 oct., 22:02 UTC Alleged theft of Venezuelan money 8 oct., 22:02 UTC Chaque ligne est l’affirmation telle que nous l’avons relevée dans le reportage de ce média. Comparaison au 9 octobre 2026 à 18:44 UTC .
