NEW YORK – U.S. federal prosecutors say Cilia Flores has received medical attention while in custody but declined to undergo a recommended procedure intended to clarify the diagnosis of a possible heart condition. The claim comes as Flores seeks permission to await further court proceedings under house arrest in New York.
Flores, wife of Nicolás Maduro, is asking the federal court to release her from detention under conditions proposed by her attorneys. Her defense has cited her deteriorating health as one of the reasons for the request.
According to her lawyers, Flores has experienced cardiac and gastrointestinal problems since being detained, has lost weight and has lost two molars while in custody.
Federal prosecutors dispute the suggestion that Flores has not received adequate medical care. They maintain that medical attention has been available to her and that she declined a recommended procedure that could provide doctors with additional information about her cardiac condition.
Flores' attorneys have offered a different explanation. They argue that she does not want to undergo the procedure only to be returned afterward to detention conditions that, according to the defense, have contributed to the deterioration of her health.
The competing claims over Flores' medical condition form part of the broader dispute over whether she should be permitted to remain under house arrest while the case proceeds.
Prosecutors are opposing her provisional release on other grounds as well. They argue that Flores presents a flight risk and that the conditions proposed by her defense would not sufficiently guarantee that she remains available to the court.
Those assertions remain arguments from the prosecution and have not yet been adopted as findings by the judge.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein has not yet ruled on Flores' request. A hearing to consider the application is scheduled for October 8.
Until the court decides otherwise, Flores will remain in custody. The October 8 hearing does not necessarily mean that Hellerstein will issue his decision that same day.