Who is Cilia Flores? Venezuela's First Lady Captured Alongside President Maduro

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were abducted by the United States’ Delta Force from the presidential residence in Caracas, on January 3. The operation was paired with attacks on the Venezuelan capital that killed at least 40 people, according to Venezuelan officials. 

US prosecutors have charged Cilia Flores with accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to facilitate drug trafficking and manipulate the country's anti-drug office. 

Maduro is charged with narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess such weapons.

Who Is Venezuela's First Lady?

Born in 1956 in Tinaquillo, Cilia Flores is famously described by her husband as his “first combatant.” The former lawyer entered politics during the rise of the 1992 Bolivarian movement led by Hugo Chávez. 

Flores climbed the political ladder, serving multiple terms in the National Assembly and eventually becoming its President, one of the most powerful institutional roles in the country.

After years of leading Venezuela's National Assembly, she helped consolidate her husband's grip on power after his 2013 presidential election victory.

She remained directly involved in governance even after Nicolás Maduro became President. Within Venezuela, she is widely seen as a key strategist and trusted adviser.

Flores described family as “the most important thing for society, for the revolution, for this country,” during her TV show, Con Cilia en Familia, which aired in 2015.

“My family got in based on their own merits. I am proud of them, and I will defend their work as many times as necessary,” she once said during an interview with La Vanguardia.

Why Is She In The news?

Cilia Flores frequently returns to international headlines for three main reasons: sanctions, legal controversies involving her family, and Venezuela’s ongoing political crisis.

Flores has been accused of corruption and nepotism, and in recent years, members of her family have been convicted in US courts on charges related to cocaine trafficking.

She is now set to stand a trial in a New York court on drug trafficking and weapons charges alongside her husband, who has consistently dismissed the allegations as politically motivated attempts to remove him from power.

Nicolas Maduro, the ousted president of Venezuela, pleaded not guilty to US federal charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking after being seized in a US raid that rattled world leaders and triggered protests outside the New York court https://t.co/oWTbUjHchGpic.twitter.com/c4ZYpT2jXi

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 5, 2026

These sanctions restrict her international movement and financial dealings, making her a recurring figure in diplomatic and political involvement related to Venezuela.

Flores is often mentioned during moments of political tension in Venezuela elections, protests, international negotiations, or statements by the Maduro government. As someone considered part of the inner core.

How She Is Viewed

To critics, Cilia Flores represents the concentration of power within a small political elite. To supporters, she is a loyal revolutionary figure who stood firm against foreign interference.

She sits at the crossroads of power, controversy, and crisis in Venezuela. Whether admired or criticised, she remains one of the most influential women shaping the country’s political reality.