US citizens sue Venezuela’s president over torture and imprisonment

Matthew Heath and Osman Khan, two Americans once imprisoned in Venezuela, have taken legal action against Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, accusing him of running a state-backed criminal operation.

The lawsuit filed in a Miami federal court, claims Maduro’s government systematically uses American citizens as bargaining tools in political negotiations with the United States.

According to a report by the Associate Press, the 87-page complaint alleges severe mistreatment of the plaintiffs while in custody. According to Heath and Khan, they endured waterboarding, electric shocks, threats of sexual violence, and forced confinement in a cramped cell known as "El Tigrito." Their attorneys argue these acts were part of a broader effort to pressure the US into lifting sanctions, ending an oil embargo, and agreeing to prisoner exchanges.

Heath, a former Marine, was detained in 2020 while travelling through Venezuela. Authorities accused him of terrorism, alleging he was spying for then-President Donald Trump. His family maintains that Heath was stranded in the region due to the COVID-19 lockdown and was attempting to reach Aruba to retrieve his boat.

Khan, a Florida college graduate, was detained in 2022 while crossing into Venezuela to visit his girlfriend’s family. He was later charged with terrorism and human trafficking.

Both men were released in 2022 after being detained for 752 and 259 days, respectively, as part of a prisoner swap.

Despite similar lawsuits by other Americans resulting in multimillion-dollar judgments, enforcing such awards remains challenging due to Maduro’s use of frontmen to obscure assets, writes the Associate Press.

Venezuela’s government has denied allegations of targeting Americans.