Will Cilia Flores be released from prison? Defense requests house arrest in NY citing health concerns

Cilia Flores' defense team filed a formal request with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to allow her to be released from pretrial detention and serve house arrest.

According to a document shared by various media outlets and journalists, the attorneys cite severe heart problems that would require medical intervention and a recovery environment outside the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center.

The petition, filed on Sept. 9 by attorneys Mark E. Donnelly and Andres Sánchez, states that the 69-year-old defendant suffers from chest pain, arrhythmias, ventricular tachycardia and weight loss exceeding 11 kg. (24.25 lbs.)

Her attorneys argue that Flores needs to undergo cardiac catheterization and that the detention center does not provide suitable conditions for her recovery.

The proposal for private custody and restraint measures

To counter the flight risk, the defense proposed a confinement plan at a confidential location within the New York judicial district.

Security at the facility would be the responsibility of Guidepost Solutions, a private firm led by former DEA Deputy Administrator Louis J. Milione, according to the affidavit filed with the court.

The plan proposed by the private security company includes the permanent presence of armed professionals, GPS monitoring, video cameras with live feeds to government authorities, sensors on doors and windows, as well as periodic unannounced searches.

Additionally, telephone communications would remain under surveillance, and visits would require prior judicial authorization, with the defendant herself assuming all operational costs.

The prosecutor's office's strong opposition

Despite the security commitments presented by the defense attorneys and the offer to surrender her travel documents, the federal prosecutor's office expressed its open opposition to granting the pretrial release. Prosecutors maintain that pretrial detention must be upheld given the seriousness of the alleged crimes.

Flores, who was captured alongside Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, 2026, during a U.S. military operation on Venezuelan territory, faces federal charges for conspiracy to import cocaine, as well as for possession of and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

The final decision on changing the pretrial detention measure remains at the discretion of the New York federal court.