Exclusively for CNN: Sources reveal new “charges” expected to be brought against Nicolas Maduro and his wife

(CNN) - Sources revealed to CNN that New York prosecutors are expected to bring new charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, against the backdrop of allegations of torture of American citizens who were detained by the Venezuelan government in recent years.

These people stated that the announcement of these charges may be made as soon as possible, perhaps Thursday.

The new charges relate to what the US government described as “the arbitrary detention of more than a dozen American citizens in Venezuelan prisons during the rule of Maduro*, who led a repressive regime in the country, according to sources familiar with the investigation.”

Investigators also discussed bringing charges against other people for their alleged role in torturing Americans, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Maduro and his wife were arrested during a US military operation in January, detained and transferred from the presidential palace in Caracas.

They have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit “narco-terrorism” and other charges, and are currently being held in New York without the possibility of release on bail.

Flores is expected to appear at a hearing on Thursday, where her attorney will request that she be transferred to house arrest pending trial.

Allegations of torture

More than a dozen Americans have been detained by Maduro's government, which US authorities and rights groups have accused of using these detainees as "political bargaining chips."

Many Americans spoke publicly about the torture they suffered during their detention. Matthew Heath and Usman Khan, who were released in a prisoner exchange in October 2022, alleged in a lawsuit that they were subjected to torture methods that included waterboarding, electrocution, threats of sexual assault, and being forced to take mind-altering drugs, as well as periods of solitary confinement.

Heath, a former US Marine, also attempted suicide while in detention.

Likewise, the "Citgo 6" group - six US oil executives who were lured to Venezuela during 2017 and detained for nearly 5 years - reported that they were subjected to extremely harsh conditions during their detention in Venezuela.

Tomeu Fadel, Alirio José Zambrano, and José Luis Zambrano reported that they were tortured during their detention at the headquarters of the notorious Directorate General of Military Counterintelligence and Security, which was “responsible for arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and torture of political opponents and their families*, according to a report issued by the United Nations.

That report concluded that the directorate was “systematically resorting” to torture practices — including electric shocks, suffocation with plastic bags, waterboarding, beatings, sexual violence, deprivation of food and water, forcing detainees into painful physical positions (stress positions), and exposure to extreme temperatures — with the aim of “extracting information and confessions, intimidating detainees, and punishing them.”