Caracas (theassemblymedia.com) — Attorneys representing Cilia Flores, Venezuela’s elected deputy for the National Assembly (AN), submitted a request on Wednesday to US District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein for her to be granted pre-trial conditional release. The request cited serious medical issues that have worsened since her detention.
Her attorneys have raised the possibility that Flores suffered a minor heart attack on July 29 while in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. She experienced intense pressure in her chest and a lack of oxygen at that time. However, no lab tests or echocardiograms were performed, leaving the extent of any coronary damage she may have suffered unclear.
Since then, Flores has continued to experience lightheadedness, dizziness, shortness of breath, and excessive fatigue. The medical team has warned that another episode would put her at risk for a life-threatening sudden cardiac event. They have advised her to undergo cardiac catheterization to check for coronary artery disease, which would likely lead to more invasive procedures.
According to the document filed by Mark E. Donnelly, the lead counsel representing Flores, an invasive heart intervention would require the Venezuelan lawmaker to receive “adequate time and a setting conducive to restoring her health.” On August 14, a fight broke out in Flores’s unit and prison guards deployed pepper spray. The spray caused her chest tightness, prompting her to use her inhaler, as she is also asthmatic.
Flores has been detained for eight months and is currently held in the female general population unit while awaiting a trial scheduled for June 2027. She will turn 70 next month.
On January 3, Flores and her husband, democratically-elected President Nicolás Maduro, were abducted from their home in Caracas during a military operation orchestrated by the US government. The operation killed over 100 people. The couple was forcefully transferred to the United States on charges related to a conspiracy to import cocaine and weapons offenses. Both have pleaded not guilty.
The case against the presidential couple is based on a superseding indictment issued by the US Department of Justice shortly after their abduction. The charges are based on years-long accusations from US officials, and no public evidence has ever been presented. According to international law scholars and institutions, Washington violated the immunity of a sitting head of state, Venezuela’s state sovereignty, and the UN Charter.
The defense team recalled that Flores was recovering from a total hysterectomy performed in November 2025 when she was abducted by the US military. During the abduction, her captors reportedly threw her “against a wall or dresser,” resulting in significant forehead lesions that required approximately 20 stitches.
The document detailed that Flores was “ripped from her home, injured to the point of permanent scarring by her captors, forced to watch as her husband was paraded before a DEA jet for photo ops, kept in solitary confinement for three months, subjected to continuous X-ray body scans following attorney visits, and endured detention and embarrassment in a foreign country’s legal system.”
Furthermore, Flores had been managing a long-standing mitral valve prolapse with monthly injections, which she has been unable to receive since her imprisonment began in January. During her detention, she has continually suffered from acid reflux and gastritis, lost two molars, and lost more than 25 pounds (some 11 kg). Flores has been prescribed baby aspirin, atorvastatin, diltiazem, and nitroglycerin to treat her chest pain.
The defense counsel asked Judge Hellerstein not to overlook that Flores is an elected deputy of Venezuela’s National Assembly and the wife of the country’s foreign head of state. Flores’ lawyers also contend that she does not currently pose a danger to the community and does not have a criminal record.
“Flores has one significant current connection to the United States: her husband, Nicolás Maduro Moros. She is committed to seeing out both her and her husband’s cases and intends to support her husband with her constant presence,” the document read.
The defense also argued that the proposed release conditions, which include GPS location monitoring, 24-hour armed surveillance, surrender of all travel documents, and a third-party custodian, would be sufficiently restrictive to prevent any risk of fleeing.
Federal prosecutors have opposed the request. Judge Hellerstein will decide whether Flores’s medical issues and the proposed home arrest conditions are sufficient grounds for replacing pretrial detention. On November 17, the defense teams of Maduro and Flores will submit motions to dismiss the case through separate legal filings.