The U.S. federal prosecutor's office denied on Friday the request for house arrest submitted by the lawyers of Cilia Flores, wife of Nicolás Maduro, who has been held in New York since January 3, 2026, as reported by Venezuelan lawyer Nizar El Fakih through his social media.
In response to the fiscal rejection, Flores' defense elevated the request directly to the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, presided over by Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, who has the final say on whether to grant the measure and under what conditions.
El Fakih explained that the defense initially attempted to reach an agreement with the prosecutors because, in the U.S. federal court system, such a prior consensus between both parties "carries significant practical weight" when the judge evaluates the request.
"Cilia Flores' defense attempted to negotiate her provisional release with the Prosecutor's Office. The process was not successful, and for this reason, her defense raised the request before the Court," the lawyer specified.
The request for house arrest was filed on Wednesday before the court and is primarily based on the deterioration of Flores' health, who is 69 years old.
According to court documents cited by CNN en Español, the defense —comprised of attorneys Mark E. Donnelly and Andrés Sánchez— claims that he suffers from serious heart conditions: chest pain, arrhythmias, tachycardia, difficulty breathing, and dizziness.
On July 29, Flores experienced "a severe 30-minute episode" with intense chest pressure that external medical advisors do not rule out may have been a mild heart attack.
The defense argues that she requires at least one catheterization and that the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, where she is held, does not provide adequate conditions for her recovery.
"Mrs. Flores de Maduro is a 69-year-old woman who will need ample time to recover from any medical procedure in an environment conducive to restoring her health. Despite the constant efforts of the MDC staff, a detention center does not have the necessary conditions for such recovery," the defense stated in the court filing.
Since his arrest, Flores has lost more than 11 kilos, suffers from acid reflux and gastritis, has lost two molars, and sleeps no more than three to four hours a day, sharing a cell with more than 40 inmates.
The defense also revealed that during the first three months he was in solitary confinement, a period in which he "was unable to communicate effectively with anyone, except for his lawyers."
Before being captured, according to the lawyers, Flores "was physically healthy and was not taking any medication"; now she has been prescribed four medications.
The proposal for house arrest included a strict monitoring regime: private residence in New York, armed surveillance 24 hours a day, GPS tracking, restricted visits, monitored phone calls, submission of all travel documents, and surprise inspections. The defense also offered for Flores to cover the costs of the transfer.
Meanwhile, Judge Hellerstein ordered to seal Flores' medical record, which had been submitted without redactions as support for the request.
Flores and Maduro are facing charges of conspiracy to import cocaine, narco-terrorism, money laundering, and weapons-related offenses, to which both have pleaded not guilty.
The trial is scheduled for June 1, 2027, with a preliminary hearing on November 17 to discuss motions to dismiss, including the arguments of international immunity that Flores' defense has also raised.
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