Prosecutors Expected to Add Torture Charges Against Maduro and Wife, Sources Say, as Flores Seeks Release for Heart Procedure

Federal prosecutors are expected to bring new charges against deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, for the alleged torture of Americans held in Venezuelan prisons, according to multiple sources familiar with the case who spoke to CBS News. CNN was first to report it.

One source said the charges could be announced as soon as Thursday. The sources said additional people could be charged over the treatment of more than a dozen Americans who were wrongfully detained while Maduro was in power.

Fox News reports that the announcement is expected in Manhattan federal court, and that U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald is expected to speak after a 10:30 a.m. hearing. The Justice Department has not publicly confirmed any of this. A department spokesperson did not immediately respond to CBS News.

Barry Pollack, Maduro's attorney, said he has not been given any notice that additional charges could be coming.

The existing case

Maduro and Flores were indicted in January after U.S. forces seized them in an overnight operation in Caracas on January 3 and flew them to New York. Prosecutors say Maduro was at the "forefront of the corruption" and ran a scheme to import "thousands of tons" of cocaine into the United States. They allege he worked with drug traffickers and narco-terrorists.

Maduro faces four counts:

• narco-terrorism conspiracy
• cocaine importation conspiracy
• possession of machineguns and destructive devices
• conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices

Both have pleaded not guilty. A trial date is tentatively set for June 2027.

The couple has asked U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that they have immunity as leaders of a foreign country. The judge has not yet heard arguments on those motions. Maduro has described himself as a "prisoner of war," according to Spanish-language outlet CiberCuba.

There are signs the government is building out the case. Alex Saab, a former minister of industry under Maduro, pleaded guilty in September to one count of money laundering tied to an alleged bribery conspiracy. He agreed to cooperate in federal investigations of the regime after being deported to the U.S. from Venezuela.

In May, CBS News reported that federal prosecutors in Miami were ordered to open a separate criminal investigation into Maduro amid concerns that the pending prosecution is weak. The Justice Department's position on that concern is not in the record.

Flores wants out of jail

Flores, 69, has a bond hearing before Hellerstein on Thursday. Her lawyers want her moved from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to house arrest at a private home. They say she has lost two teeth and about 25 pounds, and that her heart condition has worsened.

Jail doctors have recommended a cardiac catheterization, a diagnostic procedure that threads a tube through blood vessels into the heart. Her lawyers, led by Mark Donnelly, propose 24-hour armed security overseen by a firm run by Louis Milione, a former DEA second-in-command. They also offer electronic monitoring and surrender of her passport. The address has not been disclosed in public filings.

Per CiberCuba, her defense also cites ventricular tachycardia, chest pain, and a stress test in April that was halted because of chest pain. In July, external consultants reportedly did not rule out a mild heart attack.

Prosecutors do not dispute that Flores has health problems. They say she refuses recommended diagnostic tests unless she is released, which they argue means she "effectively created a medical hardship that she now relies on to seek release."

They call the request "an attempt to leverage her wealth to receive special treatment." They also cite judges who rejected similar bids from Sean "Diddy" Combs, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Jeffrey Epstein. In a September 23 filing, the government said she poses an "extreme risk of flight and danger to the public."

A person who has spoken with Flores told Business Insider she is satisfied with her medical care in New York. The person said she fears waking from anesthesia handcuffed to a bed or surrounded by other inmates.

Her stepson, Venezuelan lawmaker Nicolás Maduro Guerra, told AFP she has a "very delicate" heart condition, a prolapsed mitral valve. He said she needs surgery and a place to recover afterward. He also said she shares space with about 40 women at the jail and that her blood pressure problems began after January 3. His statements are the family's account and have not been independently confirmed.

What happens Thursday

Torture charges would put a different kind of allegation in front of Hellerstein. The existing counts are about drugs and weapons. The new ones would concern what happened to Americans in custody. Any indictment would have to be filed and unsealed before its terms are known.

The immediate questions are whether prosecutors announce charges at all, whether they name anyone besides the couple, and whether Hellerstein, who is 92, grants or denies Flores's release. The immunity motions that could end the case remain unargued.