The defense of Cilia Flores, wife of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, has asked the Justice of New York to allow her to await the trial against her and her husband under house arrest, claiming that she suffers from serious heart ailments after a recent intervention.
According to the document presented to the court, consulted by Europa Press, "Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro is the First Lady of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and deserves the opportunity to wait for her trial under house arrest, while she recovers from an invasive heart surgery."
In the petition, the defense "respectfully" requests the granting of provisional release subject to a set of strict measures: house arrest, GPS tracking system, permanent armed surveillance 24 hours a day, surrender of all her travel documentation —including the passport— and the appointment of an external guardian authorized by the Probation Services and by the court itself. The document specifies that Flores would assume the costs derived from her custody and transfer.
To support the request, the lawyers state that there are "a set of strictly sufficient conditions to reasonably guarantee her appearance" and the "safety of the community," in addition to her "serious and documented heart condition" which, according to the text, "alone justifies freedom."
The medical report included in the document describes episodes of chest tightness that have required an inhaler, breathing difficulties, palpitations, tachycardia, chest pain, and sporadic dizziness. It also details a history of "rheumatic valvulopathy with mild stenosis and moderate regurgitation" and her condition as asthmatic.
"Her health condition is serious and her current accommodation, despite all the efforts made, is inadequate to allow her proper recovery after heart surgery," states the document sent to the New York Justice, which also warns that Flores' health "is continuously deteriorating."
The defense also emphasizes that Flores is "determined to see both her case and her husband's case through to the end," and that she maintains the will to "support her husband with her constant presence" throughout the criminal proceedings.
In parallel to Maduro's own strategy, who has claimed the dismissal of the case opened in the United States alleging sovereign immunity in his capacity as head of state of Venezuela, Flores' lawyers have raised a similar argument, appealing to her status as first lady.
Maduro and Flores were detained in their residence in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, during a military operation carried out by the United States at the beginning of 2026 and have since remained confined in the federal prison in Brooklyn, New York. In the first hearing held in January, both rejected the charges of narco-terrorism, drug trafficking, and weapons-related offenses, which they consider politically motivated.
Regarding the trial against Maduro, in which Flores will also be prosecuted, federal judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, of the Southern District Court of New York, decided at the end of July to set the start of the process for June 1, 2027.