Cilia Flores, Wife of Nicolás Maduro, Seeks Release from Brooklyn Jail Citing Worsening Heart Condition
Cilia Flores, the former first lady of Venezuela, has asked a federal judge to release her from a Brooklyn jail while she and her husband, ex-President Nicolás Maduro, face drug-trafficking charges in the U.S. On Wednesday, her lawyers, Mark Donnelly and Andres Sanchez, argued that the 69-year-old should be allowed to wait for her trial under home confinement due to her deteriorating heart condition. They suggested she could stay at a residence in Manhattan, close to where their trial is scheduled for next June. Proposed conditions include constant armed security, restricted visitors, and video monitoring of her communications. Federal prosecutors haven't replied yet, and Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein has yet to rule on the request. Flores and Maduro, 63, have been in custody since early January when U.S. forces captured them in Caracas.
Key facts
- Cilia Flores, 69, is the wife of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and a former first lady of Venezuela.
- Flores and Maduro, 63, face US drug-trafficking charges and are scheduled to stand trial next June.
- Lawyers Mark Donnelly and Andres Sanchez filed court papers on Wednesday seeking Flores's release on home confinement.
- The lawyers cited a heart condition that has worsened since Flores has been in jail.
- Flores would be held under 24-hour-a-day armed surveillance in a home within the Manhattan federal court district.
- Visitors would require court and federal prosecutor approval; the home would be video-monitored and calls recorded.
- Federal prosecutors have not yet responded, and Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein has not ruled on the request.
- Flores and Maduro have been held at a Brooklyn jail since US forces seized them from their Caracas home in a middle-of-the-night raid in early January.
Entities
Artists
- Nicolás Maduro
- Cilia Flores
- Mark Donnelly
- Andres Sanchez
- Alvin K. Hellerstein
Institutions
- US attorney's office in Manhattan
- Manhattan federal court
Locations
- Venezuela
- Caracas
- United States
- New York City
- Brooklyn
- Manhattan