Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have pleaded not guilty to newly unsealed charges of conspiracy to commit torture during a court appearance in New York City. The controversial charges were made public last week, following the couple's forceful abduction from Caracas in January during a military operation conducted by the United States.

The pair had previously entered pleas of not guilty to several other contentious allegations, including narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons possession. During his brief courtroom statement in January, Maduro vehemently maintained his innocence, asserting that he remains the legitimate president of his country and was unlawfully kidnapped by foreign forces. Despite these assertions, the US regime has continued to expand its legal onslaught against the Venezuelan leadership.

According to statements from US regime prosecutor Jamie McDonald, the couple allegedly oversaw a repressive apparatus involving arbitrary detentions and violence targeting political opposition and perceived disloyalty over the past two decades. The indictment alleges that Maduro pushed enforcers to extract information more aggressively and suggested various coercive interrogation tactics. However, prosecutors notably stopped short of accusing Maduro or Flores of directly participating in physical abuse.

Meanwhile, the political landscape in Caracas has shifted dramatically under interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who assumed leadership following Maduro's removal. Although Rodriguez initially condemned the US military intervention as an illegal and illegitimate kidnapping, her administration has since cultivated close ties with the Washington regime, facilitating efforts to open Venezuela's state-controlled oil sector to foreign business interests.

Source: www.aljazeera.com