EFE.- Cilia Flores, wife of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, asked a New York court on Wednesday to allow her to await trial outside prison due to heart problems.
In a court filing, Flores’ defense attorneys requested her transfer to a private residence in New York under house arrest, with armed guards around the clock, an electronic monitoring bracelet, restricted visits and monitored telephone calls.
Flores, 69, says she needs complex cardiac treatment and that the federal detention facility where she has remained since January 3, when U.S. military forces captured her and Maduro, lacks the conditions necessary for her recovery.
Maduro’s wife’s attorneys said Flores would cover the costs of the arrangement and also offered to surrender her passport as part of the conditions to ensure that she remains in custody.
In the letter filed with the court, the attorneys described episodes of chest pain, arrhythmias, breathing difficulties and a weight loss of more than 11 kilograms since her detention.
According to the request, Flores suffered a serious health episode on July 29 that her attorneys say may have been a mild heart attack, although doctors have not confirmed that assessment.
U.S. forces detained Flores and Maduro in January during an operation in Caracas and later transferred them to New York, where they face charges related to drug trafficking and terrorism.
Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges, while prosecutors maintain that they used positions of power within the Venezuelan state to facilitate cocaine trafficking into the United States.
The case remains in the pretrial stage, and defense attorneys have begun filing motions to dismiss the charges.
Their main arguments include Maduro’s claim of sovereign immunity as the alleged head of state and challenges to the legality of the operation through which U.S. forces captured the couple and transferred them to the United States.
Flores’ defense has also filed a separate motion claiming immunity based on her status as first lady.
Federal Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein set the trial to begin on June 1, 2027.
Before then, the court plans to hold a hearing on November 17 to hear the defense’s arguments on motions to dismiss the case, including Maduro’s sovereign immunity claim.
