Ms. Cilia Flores, wife of the President of Venezuela, asked for bail due to severe heart disease after being detained by the US

Ms. Cilia Flores, who is detained with her husband, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in the US, asked to be released on bail because of heart problems.

In the bail application submitted to the US court on September 9, the lawyers said that Ms. Cilia Flores, 69 years old, "deserves the opportunity to await trial under house arrest", due to her heart disease getting worse since being detained.

Before being arrested by US forces in January, Ms. Flores "was in good health and did not use any long-term medication, except for one injection per month due to mitral valve prolapse," attorney Mark Donnelly stated in the application. Since her arrest, she has not been vaccinated.

According to the defense team, while detained in a federal prison in Brooklyn awaiting trial, Ms. Flores suffered serious heart problems, requiring a coronary angiogram and possibly even surgery. Instead of receiving injections, she was prescribed some medications to use if she had chest pain. She constantly suffered from reflux and gastritis, lost two molars and lost about 11 kg.

Arguing that current detention conditions do not allow their client to access appropriate medical care, the lawyers proposed transferring her to house arrest in the US with strict conditions, including 24/7 armed surveillance, wearing an electronic ankle monitoring device, having her passport confiscated, and only contacting people approved by the court and federal prosecutors.

Two lawyers, Donnelly and Andres Sanchez, asked the judge to allow Ms. Flores to move to the house in the trial district of Manhattan federal court, where she and Mr. Maduro are scheduled to be tried next year. The house will be monitored by cameras and her calls will be recorded.

Federal Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in Manhattan has not yet ruled on Ms. Flores' bail application.

On the morning of January 3, US forces raided many targets in Venezuela's capital Caracas, creating conditions for special forces to travel by helicopter to arrest President Maduro and his wife. The two were taken to New York and faced drug-related criminal charges. They declared their innocence and the trial is scheduled to begin on June 1, 2027 if efforts to dismiss the case fail.

Mr. Maduro, 63 years old, on September 2 sent a petition to Judge Hellerstein, arguing that he should enjoy immunity from prosecution as the head of a sovereign country. He also asked the US judge to drop the drug trafficking charges against him.

US prosecutors will have until October 2 to respond to Mr. Maduro's request to drop the charges. Judge Hellerstein will then hold a hearing on this request on November 17.

Immunity from foreign prosecution for a country's current leader is a long-standing principle in international law and is considered a cornerstone of diplomacy.

However, legal experts say it is difficult for Mr. Maduro to achieve his goal. Washington has not recognized him as President of Venezuela since 2019, and courts often let the US President and his cabinet decide who is recognized as the leader of another country in controversial situations.