The families of five Venezuelan men have filed a damages lawsuit in the US against former President Nicolás Maduro over his role in commanding the Special Action Forces (FAES), a police unit accused of extrajudicial killings and torture in Venezuela between 2017 and 2021.
The complaint filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York alleges that Maduro personally created the FAES and maintained command while the unit carried out a campaign of extrajudicial killings. The families are seeking damages under the Torture Victim Protection Act.
According to the allegations, FAES officers would raid homes in the early morning wearing black clothing and face masks, separating young men from their families, forcing many to kneel before executing them, and then staging the crime scene to give the impression that the victims had 'resisted authority'. The families further claim that the officers looted homes, planted weapons, and transported the deceased victims to hospitals to cover up the deaths.
The court filing details five separate incidents during the 2017-2021 period involving six victims. It is alleged that the FAES also tortured three relatives through beatings, detention, and forcing them to witness the executions.
Maduro served as President of Venezuela until 2026. He is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York on federal drug trafficking and weapons charges, and has pleaded not guilty in the criminal case against him. He has described himself as a 'prisoner of war'.
The families argue that prosecutors in Venezuela refused to investigate or hold senior officials accountable, leaving them with no effective legal remedy in the country. The Torture Victim Protection Act allows civil lawsuits in US courts for claims of torture and extrajudicial killing committed under the authority of foreign governments.
Reports by the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, and the US State Department have documented the FAES's involvement in widespread human rights violations. Maduro's lawyers have not yet commented on the matter.
