Nicolás Maduro ordered to pay $314 million for U.S. citizens' torture

U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles in Miami issued a default judgment ordering former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, Colombian businessman Alex Saab and several Venezuelan officials—including interior minister Diosdado Cabello and agriculture minister Vladimir Padrino López—to pay $314 million in damages to three U.S. citizens (Jerrel Kenemore, Jason Saad and Edgar Marval). The plaintiffs said they were detained, tortured and used as hostages by Venezuelan intelligence services to pressure Washington for Saab’s release in a 2023 prisoner swap. The court found the conduct constituted international terrorism under the U.S. Antiterrorism Act, Florida’s antiterrorism law and the RICO statute. Interim president Delcy Rodríguez was excluded from liability on head‑of‑state immunity grounds. The damages were calculated per day of captivity and then tripled, but the judgment did not identify specific assets to satisfy payment. Maduro remains detained in New York facing narcoterrorism charges; Saab is in Miami awaiting a money‑laundering trial. The civil case runs parallel to criminal proceedings against the same officials.