Unresolved issues with the dictatorship: Maduro ordered to pay $314 million for torture of three Americans

A federal judge in the state of Florida awarded $314 million in damages to three U.S. citizens who were arbitrarily imprisoned and subjected to severe torture in Venezuela.

The court ruling describes the Chavista command structure as a veritable criminal enterprise dedicated to geopolitical extortion. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles issued a default judgment in a Miami court.

The legal ruling directly affects Nicolás Maduro, financial operator Alex Saab, five other officials in his inner circle, and the military drug trafficking network known as the Cartel de los Soles, since none of the defendants formally appeared in court to answer the charges of serious abuses.

An ordeal of physical abuse and institutional extortion

The plaintiffs — Jerrel Kenemore, Jason Saad, and Edgar Marval — initiated the civil proceedings after being released in late 2023.

The handover of the U.S. citizens was the result of a controversial exchange of prisoners negotiated confidentially by the administration of Joe Biden to secure the release of Alex Saab, who at the time was awaiting trial on U.S. soil for money laundering and was identified by Washington as the main front man for the government leadership in Caracas.

During their captivity in the cells of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM), the victims suffered electric shocks, constant beatings, and forced stress positions —physical and psychological abuses that have left persistent traumatic effects on both them and their families.

In his 19-page ruling, Judge Gayles was emphatic in pointing out the nature of the regime: "The kidnappings were just one of the many crimes committeds with the aim of supporting Maduro's dictatorial government in Venezuela, which in turn allowed Maduro's Criminal Conspiracy to obtain illicit gains."

The use of the Anti-Terrorism Law and the legal status of those involved

The significance of this ruling lies in the legal mechanism used by the plaintiffs. The lawsuit was filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), an unusual federal statute that empowers U.S. citizens who are victims of international terrorist groups to pursue and seize the frozen funds and financial assets of their captors anywhere in the world.

Previously, the Donald Trump administration had already formally designated the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, as part of operations that led to the prosecution of high-ranking officials in the Venezuelan armed forces for drug trafficking.

The current head of the Venezuelan regime, Delcy Rodríguez, was provisionally excluded from the ruling in absentia. Her attorneys filed a motion arguing that, as a recognized head of state, she receives sovereign immunity in U.S. courts — an argument that is firmly rejected by the victims' defense team.

For his part, Alex Saab recently returned to federal custody in the United States to face new criminal charges, after Rodríguez herself decided to hand him over to federal authorities last May.