Nicolas Maduro’s wife seeks house arrest in US, citing serious heart problems

Nicolas Maduro’s wife seeks house arrest in US, citing serious heart problems



A woman walks past a graffiti depicting deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, who was snatched by the US government along his wife Cilia Flores and taken to New York on January 3 to face trial on drug and weapons charges. — AFP pic


Summary

• Cilia Flores, the wife of Venezuela's ousted leader Nicolas Maduro, has requested to be placed under house arrest in the United States due to serious heart problems requiring medical intervention.
• Both Flores and Maduro face drug trafficking charges and are detained in Brooklyn.
• Her attorney argues that detention conditions hinder her access to necessary medical care and suggests house arrest with strict security measures.
• Maduro and Flores deny the charges, with Maduro claiming to be a "prisoner of war.".

First Published: Friday, 11 Sep 2026 8:55 AM MYT




NEW YORK, Sept 11 — The wife of Venezuela’s deposed leader Nicolas Maduro, both of whom face drug trafficking charges in the United States, has requested to be released from New York detention and placed under house arrest, citing heart problems.


Before her capture by US forces in January, Cilia Flores “was in good health and was not taking any long-term medication, with the exception of a monthly injection,” her attorney Mark Donnelly stated in a document dated Wednesday.


While she and her husband are incarcerated in a federal jail in Brooklyn awaiting trial, the 69-year-old Flores suffers from serious heart problems that require a coronary angiogram or even surgery, according to her defense team.


Arguing that her living conditions in detention do not allow her to receive the proper medical care, the lawyer is requesting she be placed under house arrest in the United States under restrictive conditions, including 24-hour armed surveillance, an electronic ankle bracelet monitor and confiscation of her passport.


The authoritarian Maduro, 63, and Flores were seized by the United States during a raid in Caracas and have been detained since January 3. They stand accused of helping smuggle tons of cocaine into the United States.

Both deny the charges, while Maduro has claimed in court to be a “prisoner of war” of the United States. — AFP

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Wanks could just KIDNAP the Head of State of another country and jail him as a common criminal. WTF has the World come to?