Tell Judge Hellerstein to grant Cilia Flores home detention!

Dear John,

Cilia Flores is a Venezuelan lawyer, elected member of Venezuela’s National Assembly, and the wife of President Nicolás Maduro. On January 3, she was kidnapped alongside her husband during a U.S. military operation in Caracas and forcibly brought to the United States, where she is now being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on bogus, politically motivated charges, part of Washington’s decades-long campaign to criminalize and overthrow Venezuela’s Bolivarian government.

According to her defense team, she may have already suffered a minor heart attack in custody, and doctors are now recommending an invasive cardiac procedure. She has not been convicted of a crime.

Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein has the power to allow Cilia to receive treatment and recover under home detention while her case proceeds. Her lawyers have proposed GPS monitoring, 24-hour armed surveillance, surrender of all travel documents, and a third-party custodian. We are asking you to join us in appealing directly to Judge Hellerstein’s conscience: choose compassion before it is too late.

👉🏼 Tell Judge Hellerstein: Don’t let Cilia Flores die in a prison cell.

Personal note from Michelle

As a Venezuelan, this one feels deeply personal to me. Many of us affectionately call Cilia Flores “Cilita,” and in Venezuela she is known as the Primera Combatiente, the First Combatant. It is a deliberate departure from the traditional title of “First Lady” because Cilia has never been simply the president’s wife. She is a political figure in her own right, someone who has spent decades organizing, legislating, and participating in the Bolivarian movement alongside the Venezuelan people.

That is the Cilita many of us have come to know and that is why it is so painful to picture her now, at 69 years old, seriously ill in a prison cell thousands of miles from home. She has not been convicted of anything, yet eight months after being kidnapped from Venezuela, her health has deteriorated to the point that her doctors are warning of a potentially life-threatening cardiac event.

The U.S. has already taken enough from the Venezuelan people. It must not take Cilia’s health, or her life. Judge Hellerstein can stop this cruelty before it is too late.

In solidarity,

What is happening with Cilia Flores?

Cilia has been imprisoned in NY for eight months after being kidnapped from Venezuela. U.S. prosecutors accuse her of participating in a conspiracy to import cocaine to the U.S. and of related weapons offenses. Cilia has pleaded not guilty and the allegations have not been proved.
After eight months in U.S. custody, Cilia Flores’s health has seriously deteriorated. On July 29, according to her defense filing, Cilia experienced intense chest pressure and difficulty breathing, and outside medical experts consulted by her attorneys believe she may have suffered a minor heart attack. No laboratory tests or echocardiogram were performed at the time, leaving the extent of possible damage unknown. Since then, she has continued experiencing dizziness, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, and severe fatigue. Her medical team warns that another episode could result in a sudden, life-threatening cardiac event.
Cilia entered U.S. custody with significant medical needs that have become increasingly difficult to manage behind bars. She has a longstanding mitral valve prolapse that had been treated with monthly injections before her detention. She has now lost more than 25 pounds, lost two molars, and requires several cardiac medications, including nitroglycerin for chest pain. Doctors have recommended cardiac catheterization to determine whether she has coronary artery disease, potentially followed by further invasive procedures.

Featured readings

Campaign updates

Send a message of solidarity to Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores.

Write to Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores with our collective international solidarity campaign to remind them they are not alone.

Write to Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores.

Statement of Solidarity with First Lady Cilia Flores

Cilia Flores was kidnapped along with her husband on January 3rd in a U.S. attack that killed 120 people, including civilians. Read and sign the open letter demanding Cilia Flores’s freedom!

Sign our solidarity statement here!