Cilia Flores' lawyers raise a possible heart attack during her imprisonment

Cilia Flores' legal team believes that she may have had a mild heart attack while she was being held in Brooklyn. The hypothesis refers to an episode on July 29, 2026, when, for about half an hour, she felt tightness in her chest and difficulty breathing. Flores had nitroglycerin to treat chest discomfort, but the symptoms subsided without her using it. Her lawyers acknowledged that no laboratory tests were done at the time, so the diagnosis has no medical confirmation. Mark Donnelly explained in court that a new echocardiogram would make it possible to compare the functioning of the heart with previous tests and assess possible damage.

The defense also attributes the imprisonment to a general deterioration in Flores' health. Her lawyers claim that she has lost more than 25 pounds and two molars, and that she usually sleeps between three and four hours a night. Among the discomforts they mention are reflux, gastritis, dizziness, weakness and breathing difficulties. They also point out that Flores suffers from mitral valve prolapse, a condition for which, before being detained, she received an injection every month. According to her representatives, that treatment has not been able to continue since her entry into prison.

At the correctional facility, he reportedly received other drugs, including aspirin, statins and diltiazem, as well as nitroglycerin to use for chest pain. Lawyers say medical specialists advised him to undergo cardiac catheterization. Three cardiologists recommended the procedure, but prosecutors said Flores did not agree to undergo it inside the prison. A stress test at Brooklyn Hospital Center in April had to be halted when chest pain and trouble breathing returned. The defense has warned that the procedure may require additional interventions and recovery outside of the usual prison conditions.

Flores was arrested on January 3, 2026 while recovering from a hysterectomy, according to the details included in the case. After the arrest, she remained in solitary confinement for three months. She later went on to live with other inmates and, during a fight, was exposed to the pepper spray used to control her. Her lawyers maintain that that incident aggravated the asthma she suffers from. Unlike Nicolás Maduro, housed in a special unit of the center, Flores shares the area of general female population.

Flores and Maduro face charges of narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine and, since October, conspiracy to commit torture. In September, the defense requested that Flores serve house arrest, but a federal judge rejected the request on Oct. 8. The magistrate died on Oct. 28, at age 92, and Analisa Torres took over the case. In October, Nicolás Maduro Guerra expressed concern about his mother's heart condition and said the pressure problems began after Jan. 3. Maduro's son maintained that she had not suffered from such problems before that date.