The US military launched its military operations in Venezuela, and detained President Nicolas Maduro, which has shifted attention to his wife, Cilia Flores, who held a central position in Venezuela’s power structure and faced allegations linked by US officials and intelligence sources to corruption, drug trafficking investigations, and the inner workings of the Maduro regime.Flores, a Venezuelan lawyer, former legislator and long-time political operator, married Nicolás Maduro in 2013, shortly before he assumed the presidency following Hugo Chávez’s death. Often described as far more than a president’s spouse, she blended legal authority, political control and controversial allegations that stretched across borders, Wall Street Journal reported.
Unlike traditional first ladies, Flores rejected the title and publicly insisted on being called “Primera Combatiente” (First Combatant), a label that reflected her political self-image. Observers said she functioned as a central decision-maker rather than a ceremonial figure.Flores entered Venezuela’s political elite before Maduro’s presidency. She served as Hugo Chávez’s defence attorney and played a key role in securing his release from prison in 1994 after his failed coup attempt.She later became President of the National Assembly from 2006 to 2011, becoming the first woman to hold the post. During this period, Flores built deep institutional influence, especially within the judiciary and legislative branches.Political analysts described her relationship with Maduro as a long-running power exchange, where both traded authority across institutions while consolidating control.The most damaging allegations involving Flores stemmed from a US federal case. In 2015, Efrain Campo and Franqui Flores, her nephews whom she raised, were arrested by the US Drug Enforcement Administration in Haiti. They were later convicted in New York for attempting to smuggle 800 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.During court proceedings, the defendants claimed that proceeds from the drug operation were intended to support Flores’s political activities. US prosecutors cited these statements as evidence linking her household to narcotics networks.Flores denied any wrongdoing, and no US court convicted her personally in connection with the case.
