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U.S. citizens reactivated a lawsuit in Miami against the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, after his capture, and his vice president and now acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, as well as other Chavista officials, whom they accuse of kidnapping, torture, and terrorism.
The complainants, including those kidnapped in Venezuela and two minors, filed a motion this weekend before the Southern District Court of Florida to declare the defendants in default for failing to respond to the lawsuit filed on August 14, 2025, according to court documents available this Monday.
The resource, assigned to Judge Darrin P. Gayles, accuses the leaders of Chavismo of violating the Federal Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), the Florida Anti-Terrorism Act, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
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In addition to Maduro and Rodríguez, the lawsuit points to the Venezuelan Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López; the Venezuelan Attorney General, Tarek William Saab; the Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello; the former president of the Supreme Court of Justice Maikel Moreno, and the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez. It also mentions the state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and the former Minister of Electric Energy Néstor Reverol. The accusation alleges that Maduro "commits flagrant acts of terrorism against United States citizens" and cites the indictment against the president in New York, where the ruler and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared this Monday for the first time after their detention on Saturday. The lawsuit alleges that the plaintiffs "were held captive by Maduro" with "illegal material support" from the other defendants, whom it identifies as members of the Cartel de los Soles, a group named as terrorists by the United States last year. The plaintiffs' defense reactivated the appeal by arguing that the defendants did not respond in a timely manner within the established period, which warrants a "motion for default or non-appearance". The fact transcends hours after Maduro and Flores' first appearance this Monday before the New York court after their arrest on Saturday in an operation by US forces in Caracas, where Delcy Rodríguez was now sworn in as acting president. Maduro now declared himself a "prisoner of war" and "innocent" of the charges of conspiracy to commit narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to use those weapons. The second session of the trial in New York will be next March 17, while in Miami there are still no details on the progress of the case.
