Nicolás Maduro Faces Lawsuit in the U.S. for Human Rights Violations
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is now dealing with additional legal issues in the United States. This comes as five families of Venezuelan men have filed a civil lawsuit against him, claiming he oversaw a police force that was involved in extrajudicial killings and torture while he was in office.
The lawsuit claims that Maduro established the Special Action Force, known as FAES, which reportedly conducted a campaign of extrajudicial killings from 2017 to 2021. The families are requesting both compensatory and punitive damages under the Torture Victims Protection Act.
This lawsuit marks Maduro’s second legal battle in the U.S.; he is already facing federal drug trafficking and weapons charges. The plaintiffs assert that since Maduro is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, the case should be heard in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Further allegations in the complaint describe how FAES agents would typically invade homes in the early hours, dressed in black and masked. They separated young men from their families and executed many of them while staging incidents to suggest that the victims were resisting arrest. There’s also mention of FAES officers ransacking homes, planting evidence, and manipulating crime scenes.
The lawsuit elaborates on five specific incidents involving multiple victims, accusing FAES officers of torturing the victims’ relatives. This included physical assaults and forcing them to witness the murders of their loved ones, all while being deprived of justice by Venezuela’s judicial system.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs, as well as Maduro’s legal representative and Amnesty International, haven’t provided immediate comments regarding the case.
The complaint asserts that during his presidency, from 2013 to 2023, Maduro publicly defended the establishment of FAES, dismissing concerns raised by the United Nations and various human rights organizations. Reports from these entities have documented a range of human rights abuses linked to the force.
Family members of the victims claim they cannot find justice within Venezuela, as the state prosecutors have reportedly failed to investigate these abuses or hold high-ranking officials accountable.
The Torture Victims Protection Act allows civil lawsuits in U.S. courts regarding allegations of torture or extrajudicial killings carried out by a foreign government.
Maduro has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges against him and previously characterized himself as a “prisoner of war.”
