Former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro insisted on Thursday during an appearance in a New York court that torture allegations in a rewritten drug-trafficking indictment against him and his wife were “false accusations”.
Maduro, shackled at the ankles, was brought to court to face the new charges accusing the couple of leading a state-sponsored campaign of repression that tortured scores of victims, including three Americans.
Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein entered a “not guilty” plea on behalf of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. They were seized from their Caracas home by the US military in a nighttime raid in January.