Americans sue Venezuela's Maduro for anguish caused by imprisonment A former U.S. Marine and a Florida man who were imprisoned in Venezuela have sued President Nicolás Maduro, accusing the leftist leader of heading a vast “criminal enterprise” that has co-opted the state and uses American citizens as bargaining chips in negotiations with the U.S.
The latest lawsuit alleges that security officials under the command of Maduro subjected the men to a pattern of torture — waterboarding, electrocution, threats of rape with a nightstick, mind-altering medications and the repeated use of a cramped cell nicknamed “El Tigrito” — that is also being looked at by prosecutors from the International Criminal Court.
“The kidnapping, torture and ransoming of American citizens was part of a continuous and systematic scheme to coerce the United States government into policy concessions, the end of an oil embargo, and prisoner swaps,” attorneys for Heath and Khan argue in the 87-page complaint.
The complaint filed Monday in Miami federal court by Matthew Heath and Osman Khan is similar to a slew of lawsuits that have resulted in major judgments for Americans imprisoned in Venezuela.
Among the other 17 named defendants are Maduro’s defense minister, attorney general and interior minister as well as state-run oil and gold-mining companies.
