Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is facing a new legal challenge in the United States, as the families of five Venezuelan men have filed a civil lawsuit against him. The complaint alleges that Maduro oversaw a Venezuelan police unit responsible for extrajudicial killings and torture during his presidency. The lawsuit accuses Maduro of creating and exercising command over the Special Action Forces, known as FAES, which 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, which allows civil claims in US courts over alleged torture and extrajudicial killings committed under the authority of a foreign government. 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 claims that the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York has jurisdiction over the case because Maduro is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
According to the complaint, FAES officers allegedly carried out a pattern of violence and intimidation, entering homes before dawn, separating young men from their families, and executing them. The officers would then stage crime scenes to make it appear that the victims had "resisted authority." The lawsuit also alleges that 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 accuses FAES officers of torturing three relatives by beating, detaining, or forcing them to witness the killings. The complaint also alleges that 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 human rights organizations.
The families argue that they have been unable to obtain justice in Venezuela because prosecutors either refused to pursue investigations or failed to hold senior officials accountable. As a result, they have turned to the US courts in search of justice and accountability. Maduro has pleaded not guilty in his criminal case and has previously described himself as a "prisoner of war."
Maduro served as Venezuela's president from 2013 until 2026, according to the complaint. During his presidency, FAES was accused of widespread human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and torture. The lawsuit against Maduro is the latest development in a long-standing controversy surrounding his presidency and the actions of the Venezuelan government.
