Maduro’s wife seeks home detention as heart condition worsens in US custody

Her lawyers say Flores needs cardiac treatment and recovery facilities a detention centre cannot provide.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, wave after his third swearing-in ceremony in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 10, 2025 [Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo]

Venezuela’s former first lady, Cilia Flores de Maduro, has asked a judge to release her from federal detention in the United States, citing a worsening heart condition.

In an application for pre-trial release on Wednesday, her legal team asked for the court to allow Flores to await trial under home confinement in Manhattan.

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It described her declining health since US military operation on January 3 that resulted in her abduction from Caracas and imprisonment in New York, as well as that of 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 filing said.

“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 was a prominent figure in her husband’s government, serving as first lady since his inauguration in 2013.

Prior to Maduro’s first inauguration, she was also a leading member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the country’s dominant political movement, leading the National Assembly for more than four years.

But Maduro had long clashed with the administration of US President Donald Trump, who accused Venezuela of sending drug-traffickers into the US. Both Maduro and Flores have also faced allegations of participating in human rights abuses, including the violent suppression of political dissent.

After launching a one-day military operation to abduct Maduro and Flores, the Trump administration charged them both with drug- and weapons-related charges. They are currently awaiting trial in New York City.

But Flores’s health has been in doubt since her forced removal from Venezuela, according to her legal team.

After consulting outside medical experts, Flores’s lawyers said they believe she may have suffered a minor heart attack on July 29 while in US custody.

They also questioned whether she was receiving the appropriate medical care for her mitral valve prolapse, a condition affecting one of the heart’s valves.

Since her imprisonment, her lawyers said Flores has not received the monthly injection she needs to manage the condition.

Instead, she has reportedly been prescribed baby aspirin, a statin, diltiazem and nitroglycerin to use when she experiences chest pain.

Doctors have recommended that she undergo a cardiac procedure, which could result in additional heart operations. If she undergoes such treatment, Flores “will need adequate time to recover from any procedures in a setting conducive to restoring her health”, her lawyers said.

Thursday’s filing acknowledges that Flores does not “dispute that she has received excellent care” from medical professionals. But it argues that “a detention centre lacks the conditions needed for such a recovery”.

Her lawyers proposed moving Flores from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to a residence within the Manhattan federal court district, where she and Maduro are due to go on trial next June.

Under home detention, Flores would be subject to round-the-clock armed monitoring, with visits restricted to people approved by the court and federal prosecutors. Her home would also be monitored by video and her phone calls recorded, according to the filing.

Judge Alvin K Hellerstein has yet to rule on the application.

Flores, 69, and Maduro, 63, have been held in US custody since the January raid on their home in Caracas. Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges of participating in a conspiracy to traffic cocaine into the US.

她的律师表示，弗洛雷斯需要心脏治疗和康复设施，而拘留中心无法提供这些设施。

2025年1月10日，委内瑞拉总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗和他的妻子西莉亚·弗洛雷斯在委内瑞拉首都加拉加斯举行的第三次就职典礼后挥手致意。[Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo]

委内瑞拉前第一夫人西莉亚·弗洛雷斯·德·马杜罗以心脏病病情恶化为由，请求法官将其从美国联邦拘留所释放。

周三，她的律师团队向法院提交了一份审前释放申请，请求允许弗洛雷斯在曼哈顿的家中接受监禁，等待审判。

委内瑞拉总统马杜罗公布其在美国拘留期间的首批照片（共3条，此为第1条）

委内瑞拉总统马杜罗在美国法庭声称享有豁免权，并敦促撤销指控（共3例，此为第2例）。

列表 3（共 3 篇）石油与政治：特朗普的“历史性”协议对委内瑞拉意味着什么

报道称，自1月3日美国军事行动导致她从加拉加斯被绑架并被关押在纽约以来，她的健康状况每况愈下，她的丈夫、委内瑞拉前总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗的健康状况也每况愈下。

“在美国军事入侵委内瑞拉之前，弗洛雷斯·德·马杜罗女士身体健康，除了每月注射一次药物以帮助控制二尖瓣脱垂外，没有服用任何其他药物，”法律文件中写道。

“现在她需要服用四种药物，身边常备硝酸甘油以防心脏病发作，同时还要应对医生不断提出的冠状动脉探查和手术建议。”

弗洛雷斯是她丈夫政府中的重要人物，自2013年丈夫就职以来一直担任第一夫人。

在马杜罗首次就职之前，她还是委内瑞拉统一社会主义党（PSUV）的领导成员，该党是委内瑞拉的主要政治运动，她曾领导国民议会四年多。

但马杜罗长期以来与美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的政府存在冲突，特朗普指责委内瑞拉向美国输送毒贩。马杜罗和弗洛雷斯都曾被指控参与侵犯人权的行为，包括暴力镇压政治异见人士。

在发动为期一天的军事行动绑架马杜罗和弗洛雷斯后，特朗普政府以涉毒和涉枪罪名指控两人。他们目前正在纽约市等待审判。

但据弗洛雷斯的法律团队称，自从她被迫离开委内瑞拉以来，她的健康状况一直令人担忧。

弗洛雷斯的律师在咨询了外部医学专家后表示，他们认为弗洛雷斯可能在7月29日被美国拘留期间突发轻微心脏病。

他们还质疑她是否得到了针对二尖瓣脱垂（一种影响心脏瓣膜的疾病）的适当医疗护理。

弗洛雷斯的律师表示，自她入狱以来，弗洛雷斯一直没有接受每月一次的注射治疗，以控制病情。

据报道，医生给她开了小剂量阿司匹林、他汀类药物、地尔硫卓和硝酸甘油，以便在出现胸痛时服用。

医生建议她接受心脏手术，这可能导致后续需要进行其他心脏手术。她的律师表示，如果她接受此类治疗，弗洛雷斯“需要充足的时间在有利于恢复健康的环境中从手术中恢复过来”。

周四提交的文件承认，弗洛雷斯“并不否认她得到了医护人员的悉心照料”。但文件指出，“拘留中心缺乏这种康复所需的条件”。

她的律师提议将弗洛雷斯从布鲁克林的大都会拘留中心转移到曼哈顿联邦法院辖区内的住所，她和马杜罗将于明年六月在那里接受审判。

根据提交的文件，如果弗洛雷斯被判居家监禁，她将受到全天候武装监控，探视仅限于法院和联邦检察官批准的人员。她的住所也将受到视频监控，通话也会被录音。

法官阿尔文·K·海勒斯坦尚未对该申请作出裁决。

现年69岁的弗洛雷斯和现年63岁的马杜罗自今年1月美国当局突袭其位于加拉加斯的住所以来一直被美国拘留。两人均对参与向美国走私可卡因的阴谋指控拒不不认罪。