Cilia Flores, the former first lady of Venezuela, is seeking release from federal custody while she and her husband, former President Nicolas Maduro, await trial in the United States on drug-trafficking charges.
Flores, 69, “deserves the opportunity to await trial under home confinement” as her heart condition has worsened since her detention, her lawyers said in court papers filed Wednesday.
Lawyers Mark Donnelly and Andres Sanchez asked Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein to allow Flores to leave a Brooklyn federal jail and remain at a residence within the Manhattan federal court district, where Flores and Maduro are scheduled to stand trial next June.
Under the proposed arrangement, Flores would be under armed surveillance around the clock. She could meet only with court-approved visitors, and her home would be monitored by video while her calls were recorded.
Federal prosecutors have not yet filed a response. A spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan declined to comment, and Hellerstein has not ruled on the request.
Flores and Maduro, 63, have been detained at a Brooklyn jail since US forces raided their Caracas home in the middle of the night in early January and transported them to New York City.
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