Nicolás Maduro faces US lawsuits and a separate scandal over classified‑info betting

A U.S. soldier who took part in an operation linked to the attempted capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is accused of using classified information from that mission to place bets, allegedly earning more than $400,000. Prosecutors are examining whether the serviceman accessed privileged intelligence and violated security rules.

In a separate case, the families of five young men killed in Venezuela have filed a 44‑page civil complaint in federal court in Brooklyn. They allege that Maduro ordered the Special Action Forces (FAES) to carry out extrajudicial killings between 2017 and 2020, describing the unit as a “death squad.” The lawsuit, filed under the U.S. Torture Victim Protection Act, seeks monetary compensation while Maduro remains detained in New York awaiting trial on criminal drug‑trafficking charges.