Ex-Venezuelan First Lady Seeks Home Detention, Cites Heart Condition and Weight Loss

Former Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores has asked a US federal judge to release her from jail and allow her to await trial under home confinement, citing a worsening heart condition.

Flores, 69, is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn along with her husband, former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Both are facing US drug-trafficking charges and have pleaded not guilty.

In court papers filed Wednesday, Flores' lawyers, Mark Donnelly and Andres Sanchez, said she should be allowed to stay at a residence within the Manhattan federal court district, where the couple is due to stand trial next June.

The proposed arrangement would include 24-hour armed surveillance, video monitoring and recorded phone calls. Flores would only be permitted to meet visitors approved by the court and federal prosecutors.

Her lawyers said Flores has long suffered from mitral valve prolapse, a heart condition, but has not received a monthly injection she used to manage the ailment since her arrest. She has instead been prescribed medications including baby aspirin, a statin and diltiazem, with nitroglycerin available for chest pain.

The filing said Flores has also experienced persistent reflux and gastritis, lost two molars and shed more than 11.3 kg during her detention.

Doctors have advised her to undergo cardiac catheterisation, which could potentially lead to additional heart procedures, according to her lawyers. They argued that a detention centre would not provide an appropriate environment for recovery following such treatment.

The lawyers acknowledged that jail and hospital medical staff have treated Flores respectfully and provided what they described as excellent care. However, they maintained that home confinement would offer better conditions for her recovery.

US prosecutors have not yet responded to the request. Judge Alvin K Hellerstein has yet to rule on the application. Flores and Maduro were taken into US custody following a January raid at their Caracas home and transported to New York. They have separately asked the court to dismiss the indictment, arguing that they are protected by immunity as the former president and first lady of Venezuela.