A federal judge in Miami has ordered former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and senior Chavista officials to pay $314 million to three Americans who were imprisoned and allegedly tortured in Venezuela, marking the largest judgment in a series of similar lawsuits.
Judge Darrin P. Gayles of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued a default judgment against Maduro, Alex Saab, Diosdado Cabello, Vladimir Padrino, and several other officials, as well as the Cartel of the Suns — a group the Trump administration designated a foreign terrorist organization before the military operation that captured Maduro in Caracas on January 3, 2026. Plaintiffs Jerrel Kenemore, Jason Saad, and Edgar Marval were released in a 2023 prisoner swap under the Biden administration that also secured Saab's freedom.
The judge excluded Delcy Rodríguez and state oil company PDVSA from the ruling after Rodríguez's legal team filed to dismiss the complaint. Maduro separately faces narcoterrorism charges in New York.