Utah man sues Maduro over trauma caused by nearly two years of imprisonment in Venezuela

By JOSHUA GOODMAN
Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — A Utah man imprisoned for nearly two years in Venezuelan has sued President Nicolás Maduro for allegedly heading a “criminal enterprise” that kidnaps, tortures and unjustly imprisons American citizens. The complaint filed Thursday in Miami federal court by Joshua Holt seeks compensation for damages Holt and his family said it suffered under a little-used federal law that allows American victims of foreign terror groups to seize the assets of their victimizers. Holt traveled to Venezuela in 2016 to marry a fellow Mormon he met on the internet. Shortly afterward, the couple was arrested on what were considered bogus weapons charges and Holt was accused of being a “CIA terrorist” sent to topple Maduro.