Nicolas Maduro has become one of only eight people charged in the United States under a 1994 federal law criminalising torture committed overseas, as prosecutors expand their case against the ousted Venezuelan president.

Maduro, 63, and his wife, Cilia Flores, 70, pleaded not guilty last week to an expanded indictment accusing them of conspiring to torture political opponents to retain power. They already faced drug trafficking charges. Their trial is scheduled for June 2027.

US forces captured the couple during a military raid in Caracas in January, ordered by President Donald Trump. A Reuters review of court records identified them as the seventh and eighth people charged under the law, which defines torture as intentionally inflicting severe physical or mental suffering on someone in custody.

Four people have been convicted under the statute, including former paramilitary members from Liberia and Gambia, a Syrian prison chief who served under ousted President Bashar al-Assad, and a US citizen who operated an illegal arms factory in Iraq.

According to Michel Paradis, a partner at law firm Steptoe, the case marks the first US prosecution of a head of state accused of authorising torture in his own country.

"This really is a landmark case," said Paradis, who previously represented detainees at the Guantanamo Bay US naval base.

The new charges shift the focus towards alleged human rights abuses during Maduro's 13 years in power. Prosecutors still accuse the couple of abusing their positions to help drug traffickers and enrich themselves.

Legal experts said the torture allegations could help prosecutors present a broader account of Maduro's alleged efforts to maintain power and call witnesses who may be more sympathetic to the case.

"It puts these torture and political repression elements at the centre of the government's theory," said Artie McConnell, a former federal prosecutor focused on national security issues.

Maduro's lawyers did not respond to requests for comment. Flores' lawyers, Mark Donnelly and Andres Sanchez, said she is "completely innocent" of all charges. They also plan to revise their motion seeking dismissal on sovereign immunity grounds.

Congress passed the 1994 law to fulfil US obligations under the United Nations Convention against Torture. Each count carries up to 20 years in prison. Cases involving a victim's death can attract life imprisonment or the death penalty. Previous convictions resulted in sentences ranging from 60 to 97 years.

Maduro and Flores face no death penalty risk under the current charges, which accuse them of conspiring to commit torture rather than carrying it out themselves. US prosecutors can pursue such cases only against US nationals or people physically present in the country.

The expanded indictment details alleged torture incidents, including a 2018 case in which Venezuelan military officers allegedly struck a detainee with a machete and sprayed him with a chemical irritant during questioning about a Maduro opponent.

Three alleged victims are US citizens. Former Manhattan prosecutor Shane Stansbury said their testimony could prove powerful. Prosecutors also expect cooperating witnesses to describe the couple's alleged involvement, though defence lawyers may challenge their credibility.

In a separate case, a Tennessee jury acquitted Sead Miljkovic of US torture charges in 2025. He later pleaded guilty to passport fraud and has since left the country, according to his lawyer, Bryan Hoss. Hoss argued that changing witness accounts weakened the prosecution and questioned whether the alleged abuse amounted to torture.