U.S. Court Hears New Lawsuit Accusing Nicolás Maduro of Extrajudicial Executions

Families of six young Venezuelans filed a 44‑page civil complaint in the Eastern District of New York, alleging that President Nicolás Maduro ordered the Special Actions Forces (FAES) to carry out extrajudicial killings and torture between 2017 and 2021. The plaintiffs claim the victims were the children or siblings of four families and that the killings are part of a broader pattern of state‑directed violence documented by the United Nations.

Maduro, who is currently detained in a New York prison awaiting a separate narcotics trial, is being sued for compensation and to set a precedent for accountability for human‑rights abuses by his regime. The FAES unit was dissolved in 2021 after widespread allegations of abuses.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for the families and aims to highlight alleged violations of international human‑rights law by the Venezuelan government.