Maduro Accused Of Authorising 1,300 Killings As Families Sue In US Court Former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has been accused of authorising more than 1,300 extrajudicial killings as grieving families launch a landmark civil lawsuit against him in the United States. Maduro, who was captured during a U.S. military operation earlier this year and is currently being held in New York on drug-related charges, now faces fresh legal action alleging he oversaw a brutal campaign of state violence that claimed hundreds of innocent lives. Families Seek JusticeThe lawsuit has been filed under the U.S. Torture Victim Protection Act, a law allowing victims of torture or unlawful killings carried out by foreign officials to pursue civil claims in American courts. Five families are at the centre of the case, accusing Maduro of responsibility for the deaths of five young men allegedly executed by Venezuela's feared FAES security force between 2017 and 2020. Lawyers argue the killings formed part of a much wider campaign launched under the so-called "Operation to Liberate and Protect the People", a nationwide crackdown officially presented as an anti-crime initiative. According to the lawsuit, the operation resulted in around 1,300 deaths carried out by elite security units acting under Maduro's authority. UN Raised AlarmHuman rights organisations have long accused Venezuelan security forces of carrying out systematic executions. A United Nations investigation reported that at least 6,856 people were killed by Venezuelan security forces during an 18-month period in 2018 and 2019 alone. Investigators alleged officers routinely staged crime scenes by planting weapons or drugs beside victims and falsely claimed they had been killed while resisting arrest. Rather than distancing himself from the force, Maduro publicly praised FAES after the report was published. "All our support to the FAES in their daily work of providing security to the people," he wrote in 2019. Parents Demand AccountabilityThe civil action has been brought by three mothers, one father and a woman whose two brothers were allegedly killed during the operations. For their protection, all have filed the lawsuit anonymously. One mother, identified only as Jane Doe 1, said she had waited years for justice. "The state killed my son," she said. "I'm not asking for anything. I'm demanding." Lawyers representing the families are seeking both compensatory and punitive damages. Attorney Michael Reed Hurtado described the case as an attempt to hold powerful leaders accountable for alleged human rights abuses. "This complaint reflects the extraordinary determination of the victims' families to confront abuses of power and affirm that no one is beyond the reach of the law," he said. Pressure Mounts On Former StrongmanMaduro's legal troubles continue to grow following his dramatic capture during a U.S. military operation earlier this year. While criminal proceedings over drug trafficking remain ongoing, the new civil lawsuit opens another front that could expose further details about alleged abuses carried out during his years in power. For the families involved, the case represents more than financial compensation. They say it is their first real opportunity to seek justice for relatives they believe were unlawfully executed by the Venezuelan state. SOURCE
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