Cilia Flores, the wife of ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, is asking a federal judge to release her from a Brooklyn detention center so she can undergo cardiac treatment and await trial under extraordinarily restrictive home confinement in New York.
In a 23-page court filing submitted this week, Flores's attorneys argued that her health has deteriorated dramatically since she was taken into U.S. custody. The defense claims she has lost more than 24 pounds, lost two teeth and is sleeping only three to four hours each night.
Flores and Maduro have been detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since they were captured in Caracas during a U.S. military operation on Jan. 3. Both have pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking and weapons charges.
Her attorneys are proposing a privately funded security arrangement that would place Flores under constant surveillance at an undisclosed New York residence. The plan would include armed guards 24 hours a day, GPS monitoring, surveillance cameras, unannounced searches and the surrender of her passports and other travel documents.
Her telephone calls would be monitored, except for legally protected conversations with her attorneys. Flores would receive only approved visitors and could leave the residence solely with advance authorization and a security escort.
The defense said Flores would even consent to guards using force as a last resort to stop her from escaping. Her legal team would assume the cost of the security operation.
Federal prosecutors oppose her release, and the filing does not indicate that U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein has approved the proposed arrangement.
At the center of the request is Flores's reported heart condition. Her lawyers said she previously received monthly injections to control mitral valve prolapse but otherwise did not take regular medication before her detention. She is now taking four medications, keeps nitroglycerin nearby in case of a possible heart attack, and has been advised to undergo additional coronary testing and potentially invasive surgery.
The filing describes a particularly alarming incident on July 29, when Flores allegedly experienced intense pressure in her chest and a sensation that she was not getting enough oxygen. The episode lasted approximately 30 minutes.
She considered taking sublingual nitroglycerin but said the symptoms eventually subsided without it. According to the filing, Flores has continued to experience weakness, dizziness, shortness of breath, occasional rapid heartbeat and heart palpitations when startled.
Her attorneys, after consulting outside medical experts, believe she may have suffered a minor heart attack. They acknowledge, however, that this has not been confirmed because no laboratory tests were performed or documented at the time. The filing also says that without a new echocardiogram, doctors cannot determine whether she sustained coronary damage.
Medical personnel at the detention center reportedly discontinued the drug diltiazem and began treating her with Toprol XL, a beta blocker. Flores has experienced fewer palpitations since the medication change but continues to report other symptoms, according to her lawyers.
The defense argues that Maduro's continued detention substantially reduces any incentive for Flores to flee. Her attorneys maintain that she wants to remain in the United States to support her husband while he prepares for trial.
Maduro and Flores are scheduled to stand trial in Manhattan beginning June 1, 2027. Prosecutors accuse them of participating in a long-running conspiracy involving cocaine trafficking and illegal weapons. Both defendants deny the allegations. Reuters reported that the charges could carry life sentences if they are convicted.
Venezuelan NGOs reported more than 11,000 political prisoners during the years Maduro led the South American country. Flores was part of his cabinet.
Maduro's lawyers are separately seeking dismissal of the case, contending that he is entitled to immunity and challenging the legality of the U.S. operation that removed the couple from Venezuela. The government disputes that position.
Judge Hellerstein must now decide whether Flores's medical condition and proposed security measures outweigh the prosecution's concerns about flight risk. Until the court rules, she will remain in federal custody in Brooklyn.
