New torture charge

In his first appearance in the Manhattan courthouse since July, Maduro, in prison clothes and shackled at the ankles, called the superseding indictment "false accusations and false testimony" and told the judge: "I reject this document in its entirety." Flores said she was "completely innocent."

Prosecutors allege that for more than two decades the couple oversaw a system of torture, arbitrary detention and violence against people seen as disloyal or as a threat to drug-trafficking activity, and against the political opposition. Reporting says the indictment names three Americans among the alleged victims and quotes Maduro in 2014 urging enforcers to "squeeze them harder."

At the joint request of the parties, Judge Hellerstein moved the trial from June 1 to June 14, 2027. Defense lawyer Barry Pollock called the two-week delay "aggressive" given the new charge. These are allegations; no conviction has been entered.