Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and wife deny new torture charges as 'false accusations'

Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has rejected newly unsealed torture allegations against him and his wife as "false accusations".

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores appeared in court shackled at the ankles on Thursday, to face a rewritten indictment that has been expanded beyond the original drug charges.

The couple have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have argued the case should be dismissed on the grounds that they have immunity as the leader and first lady of a foreign country.

Maduro twice defied the judge's request to enter a plea at the hearing, instead rejecting the charges through a courtroom interpreter as "false accusations and false testimony".

Judge Alvin K Hellerstein interjected and said that "a plea of not guilty will be entered on behalf of Mr Maduro".

The couple now face accusations of leading a state-sponsored repression campaign that tortured scores of victims, including three Americans.

Maduro allegedly oversaw a violent torture system under which victims were beaten, asphyxiated, and given electric shocks, the new indictment said.

He is accused of personally recommending torture methods, receiving updates on specific victims' treatment, and threatening to kill one prisoner's child as a form of psychological torture.

Flores, 70, a former attorney general, helped develop the repressive system and ordered the torture of some specific people, the indictment alleges.

Maduro served as Venezuela's president from 2013 until he and Flores were seized from their Caracas home by the US military in a night-time raid in January.

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The couple also pleaded not guilty to the drugs charges earlier this year.

Their trial will begin on 14 June next year, two weeks later than previously set, according to a schedule approved by the judge on Thursday.

Maduro has been under investigation by the International Criminal Court for years over allegations of crimes against humanity, tied to his crackdown on opponents.

He has always denied wrongdoing.

Torture is a crime under international law and can be prosecuted outside of the nation where the abuse occurred, regardless of the victims' nationality.

But the prosecution of foreign officials in the US is exceedingly rare.

It has only been tried a handful of times, including against the son of Liberian President Charles Taylor, Russians responsible for war crimes in Ukraine and a former prison warden in Bashar al Assad's Syria.

(c) Sky News 2026: Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and wife deny new torture charges as 'false accusations'