Maduro Faces New Lawsuit in U.S. Over Human Rights Violations
Former President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, is dealing with a fresh legal challenge in the United States. Families of five Venezuelan men have filed a civil lawsuit, accusing him of leading a police unit that engaged in extrajudicial killings and torture during his time in office.
The lawsuit claims that Maduro established the Special Action Forces, known as FAES, and directed the unit as it reportedly conducted a series of extrajudicial killings from 2017 to 2021. The families are seeking both compensatory and punitive damages under the Torture Victim Protection Act.
This new lawsuit adds to Maduro’s legal problems in the U.S., where he is awaiting trial on federal charges related to drug trafficking and weapons. The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, with the court chosen because Maduro is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
The complaint describes how FAES officers would raid homes in the early morning hours, often in black clothing and masks. They allegedly separated young men from their families, executed them, and staged the scenes to suggest the victims had resisted arrest. The plaintiffs also describe incidents where officers looted homes, planted weapons, and transported deceased victims to hospitals, attempting to hide the illegal acts.
The lawsuit outlines five separate incidents between 2017 and 2021 involving six victims. It also accuses FAES officers of torturing three relatives by beating and detaining them, forcing them to witness the killings without any hope for justice through the Venezuelan legal system.
Attorneys for both Maduro and the plaintiffs, as well as representatives from Amnesty International, have not responded to requests for comment regarding the lawsuit.
The FAES was established by Maduro in 2017 as a tactical unit within Venezuela’s National Bolivarian Police. Despite criticism from human rights organizations and the United Nations, Maduro has publicly defended the unit’s actions. Reports from the U.N. and other organizations have documented serious human rights abuses attributed to FAES.
Families involved in the lawsuit feel they have no recourse for justice in Venezuela, as investigations have either been ignored or have not led to accountability for senior officials.
The Torture Victim Protection Act allows victims of torture and extrajudicial killings to seek justice in U.S. courts when such acts are committed under the authority of foreign governments. Maduro served as President from 2013 until he was arrested in 2026 and has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges against him, describing himself as a “prisoner of war.”
