For two decades ousted Venezuela leader Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores presented themselves as a formidable political power couple too focused on their revolutionary ideals to bother tying the knot.
Many in the socialist state’s leftist elite consider marriage to be a ‘bourgeois’ distraction. So it came as a surprise in 2013 when the dictator announced that he and Flores had secretly formalized their union at a ‘small family event’ after more than 20 years together.
But far from being a romantic gesture, the wedding was another calculated political move designed to give Flores a position much greater than simply that of a wife.
The shock nuptials came shortly after Maduro was elected to power and meant that Flores would be officially elevated to the status of Venezuela’s First Lady, or ‘first combatant’ as she was lovingly christened by her new husband. The description was apt as Flores quickly used her new position and influence to aggressively assert her power.
Venezuela’s Chavismo movement has always been infamously incestuous, but even by the standards of the United Socialist Party the favors bestowed on Flores’s relatives appear excessively nepotistic. She installed as many as 40 of her relatives across Venezuela’s public administration, according to the newspaper El Diario.
Even before her marriage she capitalized on the connections she made while serving as attorney general to Venezuela’s former dictator Hugo Chávez. Her family’s ties were so well known that they became a national running joke among the opposition, Reuters reports.
One former government researcher described her as a ‘secretive, conniving and ruthless political operative’ and ‘Maduro’s chief adviser in all political and legal matters’.
But all their planning could not have prepared them for the situation they found themselves in on Saturday, seized from their beds as they slept and hauled to the US to face narcoterrorism charges.
For two decades, Nicolás Maduro’s wife Cilia Flores quietly built her own empire of influence that at times, rivaled even her husband
The pair met the same fate Saturday – captured from their beds in the dead of night during a US military operation and flown to New York City to face federal charges
In 2013, 20 years after initially meeting Maduro, Flores was crowned Venezuela’s ‘first combatant’ in their civil marriage – shattering the Western idea of a mere ‘first lady’
Flores’ situation is a far cry from the power and privilege she was formally elevated to in 2013.
‘Cilia will not be the first lady because that is a concept of high society,’ Maduro said at the time of their secret wedding, warning that she would never be a ‘second-rate’ woman.
He rejected the ‘first lady’ label, presenting her as a political partner valued for revolutionary credibility, not ceremonial appearances in keeping with his socialist vision.
The marriage thrust Flores onto the international stage and in 2018 she was personally targeted by US sanctions in an attempt to weaken Maduro.
‘If you want to attack me, attack me, but don’t mess with Cilia, don’t mess with the family, don’t be cowards,’ Maduro said in response.
Over the years, however, Flores has shown she is capable of fighting her own battles and she achieved prominence among Venezuela’s socialist circles before meeting her husband.
She is said to have come from humble beginnings in Tinaquillo, in ‘a ranch with a dirt floor,’ before moving to Caracas and obtaining a law degree which put her on the path of success.
In the 1990s, Flores served as attorney for then-Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chávez during his failed 1992 coup attempt – a bold move to overthrow the government that ultimately set him on the path to the presidency in 1998.
Nicolas Maduro once posted a picture of her wife in what he described as her ‘rebellious student’ days
Flores put relatives in key positions across Venezuela’s public administration, while two of her nephews were later indicted on US drug-trafficking charges
Maduro rejected the ‘first lady’ label and presented Flores as a political partner valued for revolutionary credibility. The couple are pictured here at their civil marriage ceremony in 2013
It was during this time that the rising political powerhouse met Maduro, who occasionally accompanied Chávez to public events as a security guard.
‘She was the lawyer for several imprisoned patriotic military officers. But she was also the lawyer for Commander Chávez, and well, being Commander Chávez’s lawyer in prison… tough,’ Maduro once said, according to the outlet.
‘I met her during those years of struggle, and then, well, she started winking at me,’ he added. ‘Making eyes at me.’
Despite the spark, the pair remained separate. A year after defending Chávez, Flores founded the Bolivarian Circle of Human Rights and joined the Bolivarian Movement MBR-200, the group Chávez himself had created.
As Chávez rose to power after the 1998, Flores was elected to the National Assembly in 2000 and again in 2005, cementing her role in his political movement.
Her rise was historic and in 2006, she became the first woman to preside over Venezuela’s National Assembly.
For six years, Chávez loyalists dominated the legislature as the opposition boycotted elections, all while Flores held onto her top government position.
Her leadership drew criticism, however, especially for keeping journalists out of the legislature and limiting both transparency and public oversight.
Flores grew up with humble beginnings in Tinaquillo, in ‘a ranch with a dirt floor,’ but a move to Caracas and a law degree put her on the path of success
In the 1990s, Flores served as attorney for then-Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chávez during his failed 1992 coup attempt and met Maduro around the same time
In 2006, Flores became the first woman to preside over Venezuela’s National Assembly. She drew criticism for banning journalists from the legislature
The era of Chávez-backed press restrictions ended in 2016, as opposition forces gained control of the legislature and ended years of one-party rule.
But Flores found herself under fire again as labor unions alleged she had placed up to 40 people in government posts – many her own family – in a blatant show of nepotism.
‘She had her whole family working in the assembly,’ Pastora Medina, a legislator during Flores’ presidency of Congress who filed multiple complaints against her for protocol violations, told Reuters in 2015.
‘Her family members hadn’t completed the required exams but they got jobs anyway: cousins, nephews, brothers,’ she added.
Responding to the accusations during an interview with a local media outlet, Flores said: ‘My family came here and I am proud that they are my family. I will defend them in this National Assembly as workers and I will defend public competitions.’
In early 2012, Chávez elevated Flores to a top role in his regime – Attorney General of the Republic – a position she held until his death in March 2013.
It was early that same year that Maduro assumed the presidency, and just three months later, Flores became Venezuela’s official ‘first combatant’.
Labor unions alleged that Flores had placed up to 40 people in government posts – many her own family – in a blatant show of nepotism during her leadership
The pair’s secret marriage formalized a long-shared life, during which they raised four children together – three hers, one his – from previous relationships
By 2015, Flores’ television career launched when she debuted a show on a public Venezuelan network called With Cilia, as a family
In 2015, Flores launched a television career on a public Venezuelan network in a program called With Cilia, before taking to broadcasting state-run radio the following year.
In the years since her husband took officer Venezuela has slid deeper into authoritarianism, with his government increasingly relying on brute force to maintain control.
His regime has been blamed for dozens of killings, thousands of unlawful detentions, mass displacement and crippling food shortages which have been worsened by his refusal to accept humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile, Flores and Maduro have projected a public image of marital harmony over the years, holding hands, trading loving looks and using pet names.
But their have been cracks in the facade over the years. In November 2015 a New York prosecutor charged two of her nephews – Efraín Antonio Campo Flores and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas – with cocaine drug trafficking.
Their arrests sparked jabs from the opposition, who joked, ‘Not all her family can work in the legislature’.
Her nephews were arrested in Haiti and handed over to US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, with Flores claiming the arrests were a ‘kidnapping’ aimed at sabotaging her National Assembly candidacy.
But in December 2017, a judge handed the two young men 18-year prison sentences.
In November 2015, a New York prosecutor charged two of Flores’ nephews – Efraín Antonio Campo Flores and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas – with cocaine drug trafficking
Since taking power, Maduro has dragged Venezuela deeper into authoritarianism, all while he and Flores consistently projected a picture of marital bliss
Trump sanctioned Flores’ two nephews in December – a move that now seems insignificant as both Flores and her husband sit detained in a Manhattan cell
Prosecutors said the two men planned to use Caracas’ presidential hangar at Maiquetía airport to ship 800 kilograms of cocaine to Honduras, where it would then reach the US.
The pair walked free in October 2022 after Former President Joe Biden issued pardons as part of a high-stakes deal that secured the release of seven Americans detained in Venezuela.
Trump sanctioned Flores’ two nephews upon his return to the White House, a move that now seems insignificant as both Flores and her husband sit detained in a Manhattan cell.
