The United States carried out a large-scale strike in Venezuela’s capital Caracas and flew President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, out of the country, US President Donald Trump said on Monday.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country.”
The announcement has brought renewed attention to Cilia Flores, a key figure within Venezuela’s ruling establishment.
Early Life And Background
Cilia Flores was born on October 15, 1956, in Tinaquillo, a small city in northwestern Venezuela. The youngest of six siblings, she grew up in a mud-brick shack with a dirt floor.
Her father worked as a travelling salesman, selling sundry goods in nearby towns. The family later moved to Caracas in search of better opportunities. Flores went on to study criminal law at a private university in the capital.
From Lawyer To Political Insider
Flores first rose to prominence as the lawyer of former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and later became the country’s attorney general. She has been described by some as “Lady Macbeth,” while she refers to herself as the “First Revolutionary Combatant,” according to The National Post.
As a student, Flores was not deeply involved in politics. She worked part-time at a police station, transcribing witness statements, and married a police detective with whom she had three sons. After earning her law degree, she spent nearly a decade working as a defence attorney at a private firm.
Political Awakening During The Caracazo
Flores’ political turning point came in 1989 during the Caracazo, a wave of riots in Caracas triggered by a fuel price hike. She later told state television that the unrest awakened in her a “revolutionary calling,” Reuters reported.
The period also shaped Hugo Chavez, then an army lieutenant colonel, who led a failed coup in 1992. Flores became a vocal supporter, spray-painting his name across Caracas before writing to him and offering legal assistance. Chavez accepted, and Flores began advising him and responding to correspondence from his supporters.
Meeting Maduro And Rise Within The Movement
During an early visit, Flores met Nicolas Maduro, then a Caracas union leader who was also advising Chavez. Years later, Maduro described Flores as having a “fiery character,” saying he began to wink at her. Both were in the process of divorcing their spouses and eventually became a couple.
After Chavez received a presidential pardon in 1994, Flores helped shape his transformation from military officer to civilian leader focused on the poor. She was part of the campaign team that helped Chavez win the presidency in 1998. Around the same time, Maduro was elected as a legislator.
Flores won a seat in the National Assembly in 2000.
A Hard-Line Role In Government
Within the legislature, Flores earned a reputation as a tough political operator. After becoming leader of the National Assembly in 2007, she publicly referred to opposition lawmakers as “sinners.”
In 2012, Chavez appointed her attorney general, a position she held until his death in March 2013. Maduro, then vice president, won the subsequent election and succeeded Chavez as president. The couple married in July 2013.
As first lady, Flores initially made modest changes at the presidential palace but soon assumed a far more influential role in government.
Why Nicolas Maduro And Cilia Flores Were Captured
The United States has cited migration, drugs and what it describes as “narco-terrorism” as the reasons behind its action against Venezuela’s leadership.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly linked Venezuela to the surge of migrants at the US southern border. Since 2013, an estimated eight million Venezuelans have fled economic collapse and political repression, with most resettling across Latin America. Without presenting evidence, Trump has accused Maduro of “emptying his prisons and insane asylums” and “forcing” inmates to migrate to the United States — allegations that Caracas has categorically denied.
Drugs form the second pillar of Washington’s stated justification. Trump has argued that Venezuela serves as a major transit route for cocaine and plays a role in fuelling the fentanyl crisis in the United States. His administration has designated two Venezuelan criminal groups — the Tren de Aragua and the Cartel de los Soles — as Foreign Terrorist Organisations. Trump has alleged that the latter is led by Maduro himself.
Venezuela’s government has rejected the accusations, insisting that Washington is weaponising the “war on drugs” as a pretext to pursue regime change.
