Families sue Maduro in US, accuse ex-president of directing police unit tied to extrajudicial killings
Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is facing a new legal challenge in the United States after the families of five Venezuelan men filed a civil lawsuit accusing him of overseeing a Venezuelan police unit responsible for extrajudicial killings and torture during his presidency.
The complaint alleges Maduro created Venezuela's Special Action Forces, known as FAES, and exercised command over the unit as it allegedly carried out a campaign of extrajudicial killings between 2017 and 2021. The families are seeking compensatory and punitive damages under the Torture Victim Protection Act.
The lawsuit opens a second legal front for Maduro in the United States, where he is already awaiting trial on federal drug trafficking and weapons charges. The complaint says venue is proper in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York because Maduro is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
According to the complaint, FAES officers routinely entered homes before dawn wearing black clothing and face coverings, separated young men from their families, forced many to their knees, executed them and then staged crime scenes to make it appear the victims had "resisted authority." Plaintiffs also allege officers looted homes, planted weapons and transported victims to hospitals after they had already died in an effort to conceal the alleged killings.
The lawsuit details five incidents between 2017 and 2021 involving six victims and also accuses FAES officers of torturing three relatives by beating, detaining or forcing them to witness the killings before they were denied justice through Venezuela's judicial system.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs, Maduro's attorney Barry Pollack and Amnesty International did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
The lawsuit alleges Maduro established FAES in 2017 as a special tactical unit within Venezuela's National Bolivarian Police and later publicly defended the force despite criticism from the United Nations and other human rights organizations. It cites reports from the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and the U.S. State Department documenting allegations of widespread human rights abuses by the unit.
The families argue they have been unable to obtain justice in Venezuela because prosecutors either refused to pursue investigations or failed to hold senior officials accountable, leaving them without an effective legal remedy in their home country.
The Torture Victim Protection Act allows civil claims in U.S. courts over alleged torture and extrajudicial killings committed under the authority of a foreign government.
Maduro served as Venezuela's president from 2013 until 2026, according to the complaint. He has pleaded not guilty in his criminal case and has previously described himself as a "prisoner of war."