The families of five young Venezuelan men have filed a 44-page civil lawsuit in a U.S. federal court, accusing former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of ordering extrajudicial executions carried out by the country’s former Special Action Forces (FAES) between 2017 and 2020.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, alleges that the victims were among thousands of people killed under Maduro’s administration by security units, including the FAES, which were dissolved in 2021 following widespread allegations of human rights abuses, including criticism from the United Nations.

Maduro is currently being held in a New York detention facility awaiting trial on U.S. drug trafficking charges after he was removed from power during a U.S. military operation in Venezuela in January.

The complaint argues that the killings followed a well-documented pattern of extrajudicial executions allegedly carried out during Maduro’s presidency, which lasted from 2013 to 2026. Throughout his time in office, Maduro faced repeated accusations from international organizations of using state repression to maintain power.

According to the lawsuit, FAES officers arrived at the victims’ neighborhoods before dawn, dressed entirely in black and wearing face coverings. The agents allegedly separated the men from their families before fatally shooting them.

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The complaint further alleges that authorities later fabricated official reports claiming the victims had “resisted arrest” in an effort to justify the killings.

“Maduro used the FAES as a political instrument and a mechanism of social control to violently suppress dissent, terrorize low-income communities, and eliminate political opposition,” the lawsuit states.

It also describes the FAES as being “widely regarded as a death squad or extermination group.”

The plaintiffs argue that Venezuela’s judicial system has failed to provide accountability for the killings, preventing the victims’ families from obtaining justice.

For security reasons, the identities of the families remain confidential. They are seeking financial compensation from Maduro under the U.S. Torture Victim Protection Act.

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According to The New York Times, Maduro is expected to argue that he is entitled to head-of-state immunity in the civil proceedings.

In the separate criminal case pending against him in the United States, in which he is charged alongside his wife, Cilia Flores, Maduro has described himself as a “prisoner of war.”

He has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States and weapons-related offenses.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrest of 21-year-old Salvadoran national Erick Márquez Cruz after authorities allegedly discovered more than 70 machine gun conversion devices and other firearm-related components during a search of his residence in North Bergen, New Jersey.

According to the Justice Department, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on June 25 at Cruz’s home, where they recovered a 3D printer that was allegedly being used to manufacture firearm components. Investigators also seized 17 3D-printed firearm frames, magazines, and more than 70 machine gun conversion devices (MCDs).

Federal authorities explained that the conversion devices, which are classified as machine guns under U.S. law, are designed to convert semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic weapons capable of firing multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger.

Cruz has been charged with unlawful possession of a machine gun. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross financial gain resulting from the offense, whichever is greater.

The devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela have triggered an unprecedented diplomatic thaw between Caracas and several governments that had maintained strained relations with the country, raising hopes that the humanitarian response could pave the way for broader international engagement under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The United States, Chile, Argentina, El Salvador and Israel were among the first countries to announce humanitarian assistance, deploy search-and-rescue teams or establish direct contact with acting President Delcy Rodríguez to coordinate relief efforts in the hardest-hit areas.

Canada also joined the international response by announcing humanitarian aid while opening a domestic debate over the importance of maintaining diplomatic representation in countries such as Venezuela to better respond to emergencies and assist its citizens abroad.

The wave of international cooperation marks a sharp contrast to the diplomatic tensions that followed Venezuela’s disputed presidential election on July 28, 2024, in which Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner.

In the aftermath of that vote, the governments of Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay publicly questioned the official election results, triggering one of the region’s most significant diplomatic crises in recent years.

The Venezuelan government responded by withdrawing its diplomatic personnel from several of those countries and demanding the departure of their representatives, further deepening the country’s international isolation.

The humanitarian emergency created by the twin earthquakes has now prompted renewed communication between Caracas and governments that had previously suspended or significantly reduced diplomatic engagement, underscoring how major natural disasters can temporarily reshape international relations despite longstanding political disagreements.