The legal team of Cilia Flores, wife of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, believes she may have suffered a mild heart attack in July 2026 while being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, according to an investigation by the New York Times published this Sunday.
The episode occurred on July 29, when Flores experienced intense chest pressure accompanied by difficulty breathing for approximately 30 minutes. The diagnosis has not been medically confirmed: her lawyers indicated that no laboratory tests were conducted or documented during that episode.
According to court documents cited by the American newspaper, Flores, who is 70 years old, is in considerably worse health than her husband. Since her capture on January 3, 2026 —when she was recovering from a hysterectomy— she has lost more than 25 pounds and two teeth, and has been prescribed nitroglycerin for chest pain.
Flores was kept in solitary confinement for three months following her arrest. Later, when she was transferred to the general population, she was affected by the pepper spray used to control a fight among inmates, a situation that worsened her asthma. She currently sleeps only three or four hours a day.
Three cardiologists recommended performing a cardiac catheterization, but the prosecutor's office stated that Flores refused to undergo the procedure while in jail. A stress test conducted in April at the Brooklyn Hospital Center had to be stopped due to chest pain and difficulty breathing.
Unlike Maduro, who is housed in a special unit of the MDC, Flores resides with the general female population of the center. Both face charges of narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and, since October, conspiracy to commit torture. Both have pleaded not guilty.
The defense submitted a request for house arrest in September, which was denied on October 8 by Federal Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein. The judge passed away on October 28 at the age of 92, and the case was handed over to Judge Analisa Torres.
The son of Maduro, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, had warned weeks earlier about the severity of the situation. "She has a very delicate heart condition," he told AFP in October, adding that Flores "started to suffer from hypertension after January 3; she had never suffered from hypertension before." The chavista deputy described the process as "a political trial" and stated that Flores has a mitral valve prolapse.
The trial against Maduro and Flores is scheduled for June 2027. Before that, on November 17, a hearing is set to address the motions for sovereign immunity filed by the defense to request the dismissal of the case.
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