Maduro's wife seeks home detention citing worsening heart condition in US custody

Cilia Flores de Maduro, Venezuela's former first lady, filed a request this week to leave federal detention in Brooklyn and serve the remainder of her pretrial confinement under house arrest in Manhattan. Her legal team presented the case to a judge on Wednesday, arguing that her deteriorating heart condition—one that has worsened substantially since her capture—cannot be adequately managed within the walls of a detention facility.

Flores and her husband, former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, were taken into US custody on January 3 following a military operation that removed them from their home in Caracas. Both now face charges related to drug trafficking and weapons violations. They are scheduled to stand trial in New York in June. Flores, 69, has pleaded not guilty to the allegations.

Before the military intervention, according to her lawyers' filing, Flores maintained good physical health and took only a monthly injection to manage mitral valve prolapse, a condition affecting one of the heart's valves. Her medical situation has changed dramatically in the nine months since her detention began. She now takes four separate medications and keeps nitroglycerin on hand for potential cardiac events. Medical specialists consulted by her legal team believe she may have suffered a minor heart attack on July 29 while imprisoned. Doctors have recommended she undergo cardiac procedures that could lead to additional surgeries, and her lawyers argue that recovery from such interventions requires a setting far different from a detention center.

A central concern in the filing centers on the gap between her previous treatment and her current medical regimen. Before her arrest, Flores received the monthly injection necessary to manage her valve condition. In custody, she has not received this treatment. Instead, she has been prescribed baby aspirin, a statin, diltiazem, and nitroglycerin for use when chest pain occurs. Her legal team questions whether this substitution adequately addresses her underlying condition.

Flores served as first lady beginning with Maduro's inauguration in 2013 and held significant political standing in Venezuela's government. Before that role, she was a prominent member of the United Socialist Party and led the National Assembly for more than four years. Both she and Maduro have faced accusations of human rights violations, including the violent suppression of political opposition. The Trump administration, which authorized the military operation to capture them, has long accused Venezuela of facilitating drug trafficking into the United States.

The legal filing does not dispute that Flores has received what it describes as excellent medical care from professionals within the detention system. However, it argues that a detention center fundamentally lacks the conditions necessary for her to recover properly from the cardiac procedures her doctors have recommended. Her lawyers have proposed that she be moved to a residence within the Manhattan federal court district, where she would remain under constant armed surveillance. Under the proposed home detention arrangement, her movements would be restricted, visitors would require court and prosecutor approval, video monitoring would be installed in her residence, and her phone calls would be recorded.

Judge Alvin K Hellerstein has not yet ruled on the application. The decision will determine whether Flores spends the next nine months before trial in federal detention or under supervised confinement in a private residence, a distinction that could significantly affect both her health trajectory and her ability to prepare for the proceedings ahead.