Nicolás Maduro Moros And Cilia Adela Flores De Maduro Charged With Torture

Attorney General of the United States, Todd Blanche, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA"), Terrance C. Cole, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"), Markwayne Mullin, and Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kash Patel, announced that former Venezuelan President NICOLÁS MADURO MOROS and former First Lady of Venezuela CILIA ADELA FLORES DE MADURO have been charged in a Superseding Indictment unsealed today with conspiring to commit torture, narcoterrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons offenses.

"As alleged in today's Superseding Indictment, for more than two decades, Nicolás Maduro Moros and Cilia Adela Flores De Maduro engaged in a conspiracy to commit torture, including the torture of United States citizens, in addition to the narcotics trafficking and weapons offenses already charged," said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald. "As described in the Superseding Indictment, the Maduros and other Venezuelan leaders abused their positions of trust to enrich themselves through narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking, and other corruption, including by employing Venezuelan military, law enforcement, and other government entities under their control to flood the United States with illegal narcotics. Today's indictment further alleges that the Maduros and other Venezuelan leaders conspired to repress dissent through grave violations of human rights by ordering and allowing violence, threats, and physical torture under color of law. As alleged, this included the torture of multiple United States citizens, who were subjected to unspeakable abuse. Today's charges exemplify the tirelessness that we and our law enforcement partners will undertake to vindicate victims of crime, particularly American victims subjected to horrific treatment abroad."

"Since the capture and arrest of Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, the Department of Justice has been working to uncover the extent of their alleged crimes against the people of Venezuela and of the United States," said Attorney General Todd Blanche. "These additional charges against the Maduros reflect the dedication of this Administration to delivering justice for the victims of torture, narcoterrorism, and organized crime."

"Maduro's regime is responsible for countless American victims of narcoterrorism and drug trafficking," said DHS Secretary Mullin. "Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, our Homeland Security Task Force partners, and strong coordination among DHS, DOJ, FBI, and DEA, we're bringing Maduro and his wife to justice. President Trump is using all tools at his disposal to make America safe again both at home and abroad."

"These indictments demonstrate that our work did not stop with the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, who terrorized the people of Venezuela for more than two decades," said DEA Administrator Terry Cole. "DEA will continue to follow the evidence and pursue those who use corruption, violence, and positions of power to facilitate criminal activity and protect those who profit from it. Maduro's arrest was an important step toward accountability, but it was not the last. We remain steadfast in our commitment to work with our partners to restore law and order across the Western Hemisphere and bring to justice any corrupt leader who thinks their political position shields them from consequences."

"As alleged in the indictment, the Maduro regime subjected American citizens to torture while held in custody of the Venezuelan government - including drugs, electric shock, sexual assault, and more," said FBI Director Kash Patel. "These charges follow the historic law enforcement-operation proudly supported by this FBI in January arresting Maduro and executing one of the most daring Foreign Transfers of Custody in United States history, returning him and his wife to the U.S. - an operation which required months of coordination, detailed planning, and seamless execution across multiple components of the federal government led by the Department of War. Today's charges reflect the commitment from this FBI and this Department of Justice to accountability, the rule of law, and the protection of U.S. national security."

According to the Superseding Indictment, statements made in public court proceedings, and court filings:

For over 25 years, NICOLÁS MADURO MOROS and CILIA ADELA FLORES DE MADURO abused their positions of public trust, enriching themselves through corruption and remaining in power through grave violations of human rights.

Through drug trafficking, the corrupt use of law enforcement and the military, the abuse of the judicial system, and the pilfering of public funds, MADURO MOROS, FLORES DE MADURO, and other Venezuelan leaders personally benefited at the expense of the Venezuelan people. While this systemic corruption was immensely profitable for the defendants and their inner circle, it was deeply unpopular with the Venezuelan people. To undermine Venezuelan democracy and entrench themselves in power, these same leaders allegedly presided over a system of repression that relied on violence against political opposition, arbitrary detention, and the torture of detainees, including United States citizens. That torture included electric shock, asphyxiation, rape, forced nudity, prolonged isolation, starvation, punishment cells, and psychological torture, such as threats to harm and kill victims' families.

MADURO MOROS and FLORES DE MADURO allegedly sat atop that violent power structure. They developed and facilitated the systems which they and their co-conspirators used corruptly to amass immense wealth and power, rewarding allies with ill-gotten funds and terrorizing perceived opponents through persecution and violence. These systems relied on MADURO MOROS's and FLORES DE MADURO's control over Venezuela's military, judiciary, and law enforcement agencies, and their partnerships with organized criminal groups, including terrorist organizations and groups of state-sponsored gangs known as colectivos.

In amassing such wealth and power, MADURO MOROS, FLORES DE MADURO, and other members of their inner circle allegedly trafficked drugs under the protection of the Venezuelan military, judiciary, and law enforcement agencies. They allegedly partnered with narcotics traffickers and narco-terrorists from designated foreign terrorist organizations, including the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia ("FARC"), the Ejército de Liberación Nacional ("ELN"), the Sinaloa Cartel, the Zetas, later known as the Cártel del Noreste ("CDN"), and Tren de Aragua ("TdA"), who dispatched cocaine from Venezuela to the United States via transshipment points in the Caribbean and Central America.

MADURO MOROS, FLORES DE MADURO, and other high-ranking members of their inner circle also allegedly created and maintained a violent system of repression. Since at least 1999, thousands of Venezuelans have been harassed, threatened, arrested, prosecuted, assaulted, tortured, or killed by individuals wielding the purported authority of the Venezuelan state to ensure that MADURO MOROS and FLORES DE MADURO remained in power. MADURO MOROS and FLORES DE MADURO used military units, colectivos, and narco-terrorist groups involved in their drug trafficking to unlawfully detain and torture their victims. Such violence and repression increased around periods of political instability in which MADURO MOROS's and FLORES DE MADURO's power was threatened. During these periods, MADURO MOROS, FLORES DE MADURO, and other high-level Venezuelan officials jointly undertook efforts to stifle those who opposed, or were merely suspected of opposing, MADURO MOROS or his regime. Those efforts included physical and psychological torture systematically used to terrify the populace and silence dissent.

In addition to MADURO MOROS and FLORES DE MADURO, other high-level officials allegedly were integral to this system. One high-level Venezuelan official, referred to in the Superseding Indictment as CC-1, ordered the murders of certain individuals who opposed MADURO MOROS or his regime, oversaw torture undertaken by officials under his command, and personally threatened the murder of a prisoner's child as a form of psychological torture. Another senior Venezuelan officer who reported directly to MADURO MOROS, referred to in the Superseding Indictment as CC-2, developed torture methods that he presented for approval to MADURO MOROS, led an agency responsible for torturing scores of victims, and personally signed off on the unlawful arrest and torture of specific individuals. A third Venezuelan official, referred to in the Superseding Indictment as CC-3, personally ordered and participated in the torture of civilians and military members, including United States citizens, who were believed to pose a threat to MADURO MOROS's rule. For example, one particular United States citizen was detained in Venezuela and subjected to, among other things, deprivation of food and water, simulated drowning, repeated beatings, electric shock to his testicles, and forced injections.

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The Superseding Indictment charges Maduro Moros, 63, and FLORES DE MADURO, 69, in Count One, with participating in a narcoterrorism conspiracy, which carries a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence and a maximum sentence of life in prison; in Count Two, with conspiring to commit torture, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; in Count Three, with conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, which carries a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence and a maximum sentence of life in prison; in Count Four, with using and carrying machine guns and destructive devices during and in relation to, and possessing machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the narco-terrorism and cocaine-importation conspiracies, which carries a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence and a maximum sentence of life in prison; and in Count Five, with conspiring to use and carry machine guns and destructive devices during and in relation to, and to possess machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the narco-terrorism and cocaine-importation conspiracies, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. The potential maximum sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. McDonald thanked the Homeland Security Task Force; DEA's Special Operations Division, New York Division, New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, Miami Division, Rocky Mountain Division, Andean Division, and Europe Division; FBI's New York Field Office, International Human Rights Unit, Nashville-Knoxville Resident Agency, and Legal Attaché Office in Madrid, Spain; HSI's New York Field Office and Attaché Madrid; the U.S. Department of Justice's Joint Task Force Vulcan, Office of International Affairs, Eastern District of New York, Southern District of Florida, National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section, National Security Cyber Section, and Office of Intelligence, and the Criminal Division's Office of Human Rights and Special Prosecutions, Office of Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, and Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section; United States Marshals Service for the Southern District of New York; and the New York City Police Department for their assistance.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force ("HSTF") initiative established by Executive Order 14159. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders.

This case is being handled by the Office's National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaylan E. Lasky, Henry L. Ross, Kevin T. Sullivan, and Kyle A. Wirshba are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Kevin Nunnally of the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division.

The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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   As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment and the description of the Superseding Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described therein should be treated as an allegation.

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