According to CBS News, the proposed charges could be based on the cases of more than 12 Americans who were allegedly detained unlawfully in Venezuela during Maduro’s presidency. Other individuals could also face prosecution over their suspected roles in the alleged abuses.
A person familiar with the case said the new charges could be announced as early as Thursday.
Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, told CBS News that he had not been informed of any additional charges being considered against his client.
Cilia Flores is expected to appear before a federal court in the Southern District of New York on Thursday for a bail hearing, while the main trial has tentatively been scheduled for June 2027.
Maduro and Flores were already indicted by a grand jury earlier this year on charges related to an alleged conspiracy to bring “thousands of tons” of cocaine into the United States and use the proceeds to enrich themselves, their families and other senior Venezuelan officials.
The couple were arrested by US forces during a nighttime operation and taken to the United States to face prosecution.
Prosecutors allege that Maduro was at the centre of a corrupt operation and that he and his associates worked with drug traffickers and groups accused of narco-terrorism to facilitate the large-scale smuggling of drugs into the United States.
Maduro currently faces four charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess such weapons.
His case is being heard in the Southern District of New York, where Maduro and 14 other individuals were initially indicted in March 2020, during US President Donald Trump’s first term.
Maduro and his wife have asked Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein to dismiss the drug-trafficking-related charges, arguing that they should not be prosecuted because they were national leaders. The judge has not yet begun hearing arguments on that request.
