NEW YORK – Attorneys for Cilia Flores have asked U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein to grant her conditional release while she awaits trial in New York, arguing that she is suffering from a serious and documented heart condition that has worsened during her detention.
The request, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks Flores’ release under strict conditions while the criminal proceedings against her continue.
According to her defense team, Flores underwent invasive heart surgery and has experienced episodes of rapid heartbeat, chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness and weakness while detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Her attorneys have also raised the possibility that Flores may have suffered a minor heart attack while in custody.
The defense argues that the proposed release conditions would be sufficiently restrictive to prevent Flores from fleeing. Her lawyers also contend that she does not currently pose a danger to the community.
They cited her medical condition, lack of a prior criminal record and stated intention to remain in the United States to face the judicial process alongside Nicolás Maduro as additional reasons for granting her provisional release.
Federal prosecutors oppose the request. Judge Hellerstein will therefore have to determine whether Flores’ reported medical problems and the proposed conditions of release are sufficient to justify replacing pretrial detention with conditional release.
Flores and Maduro pleaded not guilty when they appeared before the federal court in January. Both have remained in pretrial detention in Brooklyn since then.
The latest filing does not mean Flores has been released. It is a request by her defense attorneys that remains subject to a decision by the federal court.