Maduro's wife suffers 'very delicate' heart issue: Son

CARACAS: Ousted former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro's jailed wife Cilia Flores has a "very delicate" heart condition requiring surgery, Maduro's son told AFP on Monday, after Flores requested to be released on house arrest.

Flores, 69, was arrested alongside Maduro by US forces during a raid on Caracas on Jan 3 and taken to the United States to face trial on trafficking charges.

She is being held in the same federal prison in Brooklyn, New York, as Maduro.

Last month, her lawyer requested she be placed under house arrest, saying that she suffers from heart problems for which her prison conditions do not provide adequate care.

Maduro's son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, said Flores is suffering from a "prolapsed" heart, a condition that, in rare, severe cases, can cause heart failure.

He said that she required surgery and needed to be released from prison in order to properly recuperate afterwards.

The US government has opposed her request for pre-trial release, saying she poses "an extreme risk of flight and danger to the public."

Flores' lawyer Mark Donnelly had suggested she be placed under house arrest with 24-hour armed surveillance, an electronic monitoring bracelet and that her passport be confiscated.

Maduro and his wife, who is believed to have played a key role in his regime, are accused of helping traffic cocaine into the United States, which they deny.

Maduro has asked for the charges against him to be dismissed, invoking his immunity as head of state.

After his ouster, his former deputy Delcy Rodriguez took over as interim president, with the assent of US President Donald Trump.

Rodriguez has appeared ready to comply with Trump's agenda in Venezuela, including his bid to control vast chunks of the country's huge oil reserves.