Cilia Flores Requests Manhattan Home Detention as Health Deteriorates in US Custody

Former Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores de Maduro has petitioned a judge for release from federal detention in the United States, pointing to a rapidly deteriorating heart condition. In a pre-trial application submitted on Wednesday, her legal team requested that Flores be permitted to await trial under home confinement in Manhattan. The filing outlined her declining health following the US military operation on January 3 that led to her abduction from Caracas and subsequent imprisonment in New York, alongside her husband, former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

"Prior to the United States’ military invasion of Venezuela, Ms. Flores de Maduro was physically healthy and took no ongoing medication, other than a monthly injection to help control her mitral valve prolapse," the legal documentation stated. "Now she is prescribed four medications, maintains nitroglycerin by her side in the event of a potential heart attack, and grapples with the continued medical advice suggesting coronary exploration and surgery."

Flores served as a prominent figure in her husband's administration, holding the position of first lady since his inauguration in 2013. Before Nicolas Maduro’s initial inauguration, she also acted as a leading member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and headed the National Assembly for over four years. Nicolas Maduro had previously clashed with the administration of US President Donald Trump, who accused Venezuela of directing drug-traffickers into the US. Both Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores have also faced accusations of participating in human rights abuses, such as the violent suppression of political dissent.

Following a one-day military operation to abduct Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores, the Trump administration brought drug- and weapons-related charges against both individuals. They currently remain in custody in New York City awaiting trial. However, legal representatives argue that Flores’s health has been severely compromised since her forced removal from Venezuela. Following consultations with outside medical experts, her lawyers expressed belief that she may have suffered a minor heart attack on July 29 while in US custody, while also questioning whether she has received adequate medical care for her mitral valve prolapse.

Since her imprisonment, lawyers noted that Flores has not received the necessary monthly injection to manage her condition. Instead, she has reportedly been prescribed baby aspirin, a statin, diltiazem, and nitroglycerin for chest pain. Medical professionals have advised her to undergo a cardiac procedure that could lead to additional heart operations. Her legal team emphasized that if she undergoes such treatment, Flores "will need adequate time to recover from any procedures in a setting conducive to restoring her health".

While Thursday’s filing acknowledges that Flores does not "dispute that she has received excellent care" from medical professionals, it maintains that "a detention centre lacks the conditions needed for such a recovery". Her lawyers proposed relocating Flores from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to a residence situated within the Manhattan federal court district, where both she and Nicolas Maduro are scheduled to stand trial next June. Under home detention, Flores would face round-the-clock armed monitoring, with visits restricted to individuals approved by the court and federal prosecutors, alongside video monitoring of her residence and recorded phone calls.

Judge Alvin K Hellerstein has not yet issued a ruling regarding the application. Both Cilia Flores, 69, and Nicolas Maduro, 63, have remained in US custody since the January raid on their residence in Caracas, having pleaded not guilty to charges of participating in a conspiracy to traffic cocaine into the US.