When US forces conducted a night raid on the Venezuelan capital Caracas, they didn't just drag President Nicolás Maduro from his compound and put him on a boat to New York - they took his wife too. Cilia Flores, 69, has long been seen as one of the most powerful figures in Venezuela, a political operator in her own right who for decades has shaped the country's fortunes. After years leading Venezuela's National Assembly, she helped consolidate her husband's grip on power after his 2013 presidential election victory.
As First Lady, she was dubbed First Warrior by Maduro. But in that role she publicly took a backseat - presenting a more family-oriented face to what critics say was a brutal regime. She hosted a TV show, Con Cilia en Familia, and made occasional appearances on state television to dance salsa with her husband. But behind-the-scenes, she is thought to have been one of Maduro's key advisers, and an architect of his political survival.
Flores has faced allegations of corruption and nepotism, and in recent years her family members have been found guilty in US courts of cocaine smuggling. She will now face drug trafficking and weapons charges in a New York court, along with her husband.
Flores met Maduro in the early 1990s, when she took on the defense of the plotters of the failed 1992 coup attempt, including Hugo Chávez, the man who would later become president. After Chávez won the presidency in 1998, Flores quickly rose through the political ranks, joining the National Assembly in 2000 and becoming its leader in 2006.
Months later the pair married, formalizing a years-long relationship in which they'd lived together, raising children from previous relationships. To her detractors, she is seen as part of a deeply corrupt, human-rights-abusing regime. While facing multiple allegations of corruption throughout her career, she now stands accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to facilitate drug trafficking operations.
Flores is expected in court shortly, as the Trump administration announces fresh sanctions implicating her and her family, illuminating the intricacies of power and corruption within Venezuela's ruling class.
As First Lady, she was dubbed First Warrior by Maduro. But in that role she publicly took a backseat - presenting a more family-oriented face to what critics say was a brutal regime. She hosted a TV show, Con Cilia en Familia, and made occasional appearances on state television to dance salsa with her husband. But behind-the-scenes, she is thought to have been one of Maduro's key advisers, and an architect of his political survival.
Flores has faced allegations of corruption and nepotism, and in recent years her family members have been found guilty in US courts of cocaine smuggling. She will now face drug trafficking and weapons charges in a New York court, along with her husband.
Flores met Maduro in the early 1990s, when she took on the defense of the plotters of the failed 1992 coup attempt, including Hugo Chávez, the man who would later become president. After Chávez won the presidency in 1998, Flores quickly rose through the political ranks, joining the National Assembly in 2000 and becoming its leader in 2006.
Months later the pair married, formalizing a years-long relationship in which they'd lived together, raising children from previous relationships. To her detractors, she is seen as part of a deeply corrupt, human-rights-abusing regime. While facing multiple allegations of corruption throughout her career, she now stands accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to facilitate drug trafficking operations.
Flores is expected in court shortly, as the Trump administration announces fresh sanctions implicating her and her family, illuminating the intricacies of power and corruption within Venezuela's ruling class.
