Ousted Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores, jailed in the United States alongside Nicolas Maduro, asks to be released from federal prison to house arrest for medical treatment. Multiple reports say her legal team and relatives describe a serious heart condition that they argue requires surgery and recuperation under conditions prison cannot provide.
According to accounts cited by outlets, Flores is being held in a Brooklyn, New York, federal facility and is requesting home confinement supported by monitoring and restrictions, such as electronic tracking and limiting movement. Prosecutors oppose the request, arguing she poses an extreme risk of flight and danger to the public.
A relative of Flores, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, describes the condition as a prolapsed heart that can, in rare severe cases, lead to heart failure, and says surgery is needed. Her lawyers have proposed specific safeguards if she is moved. The cases stem from US accusations that Maduro-era officials helped traffic cocaine into the United States, which both Maduro and Flores deny, with trial dates reported as years away.
