Who is Cilia Flores, Venezuela’s ‘first combatant’?

In the aboriginal hours of January 3, the United States’ Delta Force abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from the statesmanlike residence successful the capital, Caracas.

The operation, which was paired with attacks connected the Venezuelan superior that killed astatine slightest 40 people, according to Venezuelan officials, extracted the country’s archetypal mates to New York successful the US, wherever they are expected to beryllium enactment connected proceedings arsenic aboriginal arsenic Monday.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3Venezuelans divided aft US onslaught and Maduro’s abduction
• list 2 of 3Who is Nicolas Maduro?
• list 3 of 3UN General Assembly president connected war, vetoes and UN reform

But who is Cilia Flores, Venezuela’s alleged “first combatant”?

Early life

Flores, 69, was calved connected October 15, 1956, successful Tinaquillo successful cardinal Venezuela. She grew up successful areas of occidental Caracas that CNN has described arsenic “working-class neighbourhoods”.

She graduated from Universidad Santa Maria successful Caracas arsenic a lawyer specialising successful labour and transgression law. Her emergence to prominence came erstwhile she led the squad that provided ineligible assistance to subject person Hugo Chavez successful 1992, aft helium attempted to overthrow then-Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez.

Flores reportedly helped unafraid Chavez’s merchandise from situation successful 1994, mounting up his eventual palmy tally for president successful 1999.

She would go an important subordinate of the Chavismo movement, named for Chavez. It was done the Chavismo question that she met her aboriginal husband, Maduro, who is 63 and calls her “Cilita”. The 2 person been partners for much than 3 decades.

She has 3 children from a erstwhile marriage.

Political career

Flores’s emergence to fame came not solely done her presumption arsenic Maduro’s partner. In fact, she built her ain governmental lasting earlier becoming Venezuela’s “first combatant”, the Chavismo word utilized alternatively of “first lady”.

In 1999, Chavez was elected president. A twelvemonth later, successful 2000, Flores was elected to Venezuela’s National Assembly, the national legislature, representing Cojedes, her location state.

She was re-elected successful 2005, and successful 2006, she succeeded Maduro to go the archetypal pistillate to preside implicit Venezuela’s parliament.

In 2009, Flores became the 2nd vice president of Chavez’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela, and successful 2012, Chavez appointed her lawyer general.

After the decease of Chavez successful 2013, Maduro succeeded him by winning an predetermination against absorption campaigner Henrique Capriles. In July 2013, Maduro and Flores joined aft much than 2 decades together.

Her caller presumption arsenic “first combatant” saw Flores region herself from the limelight and statesman to enactment down the scenes.

However, successful 2017, she returned to authorities aft she was elected to the Constituent Assembly, a radical that was elected to draught a caller Venezuelan constitution. In 2021, she was elected erstwhile again to the National Assembly.

At the clip of her abduction, she was inactive serving arsenic a lawman successful the National Assembly.

Inside Venezuela, she has been accused of nepotism by appointing adjacent household members to important governmental positions.

Capture and charges

Flores’s relation arsenic portion of Maduro’s interior ellipse has brought planetary repercussions arsenic well. She was sanctioned by the US and Canadian authorities successful 2018 aft the Organization of American States said the Maduro authorities had committed crimes against humanity.

After her abduction connected Saturday, she is expected to look with Maduro successful a New York court, perchance arsenic aboriginal arsenic Monday. While Maduro was seen exiting a level successful the US, Flores was not.

She has been indicted successful New York’s Southern District, with US Attorney General Pam Bondi issuing her charges that reflector those against Maduro, including “Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States”, according to a station connected X by Bondi.

As for Flores, she is “accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars successful bribes successful 2007 to put a gathering betwixt ‘a large-scale cause trafficker’ and the manager of Venezuela’s National Anti-Drug Office”, according to the paper The Guardian.

Flores’s nephews were antecedently arrested successful the US and, successful 2017, were sentenced to 18 years successful situation for conspiring to postulation cocaine into the US. They were released successful 2022 arsenic portion of a situation swap with Venezuela for 7 imprisoned US citizens.

The US claims that Flores’s nephews were caught connected recordings that beryllium they intended to nonstop hundreds of kilograms of cocaine to the US from Maduro’s statesmanlike hangar successful Venezuela.

The US has attacked boats carrying Venezuelan nationals at slightest 30 times successful caller months, sidesplitting much than 100 people.

It claims the boats were carrying cause smugglers, adjacent though the Trump medication has not provided nationalist grounds that determination were drugs connected committee the boats, that they were US-bound, oregon that the victims of the attacks belonged to banned organisations, contempt US claims.