Maduro and Cilia Flores to appear before New York judge on new charges

U.S. Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein has scheduled a hearing for this Thursday, October 15, in New York, where deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, must respond to new charges of conspiracy to commit torture, filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office last week.

According to the order issued this Wednesday by the magistrate and published in the case’s judicial file, the hearing is scheduled for 11:00 a.m., New York time (15:00 GMT).

The appearance will be focused on the charges included in the updated indictment against Maduro and Flores.

Nicolás Maduro: new charges

The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed charges of conspiracy to commit torture against both defendants a week ago.

Furthermore, it extended the indictment for narcoterrorism to Cilia Flores, which previously only applied to Nicolás Maduro.

The update to the file thus expands the criminal charges that both face before the U.S. justice system.

Accusations against Nicolás Maduro

Maduro and Flores also remain charged with conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States.

Likewise, the charges related to the possession and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices are maintained.

The hearing on October 15 will allow for formally addressing the new charges contained in the updated indictment.

The charges correspond to allegations by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and do not, in themselves, constitute a declaration of guilt.