N+ and Semana report Flores denial at Hellerstein hearing
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty Thursday to a new U.S. conspiracy to commit torture charge that carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence.
Both entered their pleas before U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in New York City. Maduro rejected the allegations as false. After he declined to formally enter a plea, the judge entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf. Flores also denied wrongdoing, according to reports by N+ and Semana.
The U.S. Justice Department announced the charges Oct. 8, accusing the couple of overseeing a system of repression that involved the detention and torture of political opponents and other prisoners, including three U.S. citizens.
Prosecutors allege that Maduro ordered the detention and torture of certain prisoners. They further allege that Flores helped develop the system and ordered torture to protect the illicit activities of family members.
Both defendants also face existing narcoterrorism, cocaine trafficking, and weapons charges, which they denied at Thursday’s hearing.
Hellerstein postponed the start of trial by two weeks, moving the proceedings to June 14.
Maduro and Flores have been held in federal custody in Brooklyn, N.Y., since U.S. forces captured them in Caracas in January.