Motley Rice attorneys representing Matthew Heath and Osman Khan sued Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and 16 other defendants on January 6, 2025 in federal court. Specifically, the suit seeks justice for the kidnapping, captivity, interrogation, torture, and defamation of both men.
The complaint alleges Heath and Khan were abducted, tortured, and ransomed as part of an effort by a larger scale criminal enterprise headed by President Maduro. These men were targeted, abducted, and detained as part of a plot to use as pressure in negotiations for prisoner swaps with the United States, the lawsuit alleges, including the release of two nephews of Venezuela’s de-facto first lady who were imprisoned on drug convictions.
Wrongful imprisonment and torture
Matthew Heath, a decorated Marine Corps veteran, was arrested at a roadblock in 2020 while travelling through Venezuela. His confinement lasted 752 days. Osman Khan was detained in 2022 while visiting his girlfriend’s family. His confinement continued for 259 days. During their captivity, the complaint alleges both men were subjected to various means of torture including waterboarding, electrocution, threats of sexual assault, use of mind-altering drugs, and periods of confinement in a punishment cell referred to as “El Tigrito.”
The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division, alleges violations of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), the Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and civil RICO laws. Other causes of action include emotional distress, false imprisonment, and defamation.
“We believe our clients were targeted simply for being American citizens, and that Maduro and his enterprise leveraged that fact in an attempt to coerce the U.S. government into concessions and strike fear into the hearts of the American people. It is our mission to have this lawsuit send the message that kidnapping, torture and abuse of Americans will not go unanswered. It is a privilege to represent Matt and Osman as they seek justice against those responsible for causing them intense physical suffering, and to prevent the pain felt by their families during their harrowing ordeal from happening to other Americans,” Motley Rice attorneys said.
The United States government found both men’s arrest and detention were wrongful and based on false charges.