Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores wave after his swearing-in ceremony for a third term at the National Assembly in Venezuela. (Photo: AP)
Flores, 69, would remain within the Manhattan federal court district under the proposed arrangement. She and her husband, former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, 63, are scheduled to stand trial next June.
Mark Donnelly and Andres Sanchez, who represent Flores, said in court papers filed on Wednesday that she “deserves the opportunity to await her trial while on home confinement”, Reuters reported. Twenty-four-hour armed surveillance, recorded phone calls and video monitoring are among the conditions lawyers for Venezuela’s former first lady Cilia Flores have proposed if she is allowed to await trial under home confinement. Visitors would also need approval from prosecutors and the court. Flores is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn. Her lawyers say a longstanding heart condition has worsened while she has been in custody. Her treatment in custody includes baby aspirin, a statin and diltiazem, with nitroglycerine prescribed when needed for chest pain. An early-January US operation at their Caracas home ended with both being taken into custody. They were subsequently brought to New York.