WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- The United States (US) Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) on Thursday declined to respond to a query about the status of former Venezuelan First Lady Cilia Flores amid reports that she had suffered a heart attack while in custody, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.
Earlier in the day, the Associated Press reported, citing Flores’s lawyers, that she may have suffered a minor heart attack in July while in US custody and had also lost more than 11 kilogrammes.
“For privacy, safety and security reasons, we do not comment on an inmate’s health care status or medical care,” the BOP said when asked about Flores’s health status.
In September, the first lady’s attorney sought her release from jail and home detention pending trial, citing her heart condition.
On Monday, former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, said Flores suffers from heart problems and that there are no conditions in the prison where she is being held for her to recover from the surgery she needs.
-- BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI