WHO IS CILIA FLORES, MADURO’S WIFE? She defended Hugo Chávez as a lawyer, was the first female speaker of parliament, they call her the “combat force of socialism” (VIDEO)

Along with the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, early this morning U.S. special forces captured his wife and chief adviser as well, Cilia Flores (68), who was not only the first lady but also the most powerful woman in Venezuela.

U.S. troops pulled them both from their bedroom and quickly removed them from the country so they could face drug trafficking charges before a U.S. court.

“Cilita,” as Maduro affectionately calls her, served as first lady for more than a decade — although in the official jargon of the socialist movement known as Chavismo she is referred to as the “first combat force” (primera combatiente). She has been Maduro’s partner for more than 30 years, during which she built her own political capital and was considered one of the most powerful women in Venezuela.

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From lawyer to power broker

Born in 1956 in the small town of Tinaco, Flores grew up in working-class neighborhoods of western Caracas. She met Maduro in the early days of the Chavista movement. As a lawyer specializing in labor and criminal law, she provided legal assistance to Hugo Chávez and other officers who were arrested after the attempted coup in 1992.

“During that struggle for Chávez’s release, we were involved in street activities. I remember a meeting in Catia; when a young man asked for the floor and began to speak, I just stared at him. I said: ‘How smart he is,’” Flores recalled in 2023.

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Political career and controversies

Since then they have been inseparable, but Flores forged her own path:

2000: She was elected a member of the National Assembly.

2006: She became the first woman to lead parliament, succeeding Maduro himself.

Controversies: During her term she barred journalists from entering the assembly hall and was fiercely criticized for employing dozens of relatives in Congress. She responded to those accusations by saying: “Yes, my family members are employed based on their own merits; I am proud of them and I will defend their work.”

Chávez’s “daughter” and power from the shadows

Between 2009 and 2011 she served as vice president of the ruling party (PSUV), and in 2012 Chávez appointed her attorney general. Her Twitter profile in 2015 read “Chávez’s daughter,” which she later changed to “Chavista.”

She married Maduro in July 2013, shortly after his first electoral victory. Political analysts point out that she was the “power behind the throne”:

She was key during the period of internal power struggles after Chávez’s death.

She helped Maduro consolidate leadership over other powerful figures such as Diosdado Cabello.

Although she has reduced her public appearances in recent years, experts say there was no doubt that she was the most powerful woman in the country as long as Chavismo remained in power.